Home
Search this site
Contact
Frisco Jazz CDs
Alguire, Danny
Armstrong, Lil Hardin
Armstrong, Louis
Bagatelle jazz bar
Bales, Burt
Bardin, Bill
Basie, Count
Bearcats archive
Bechet, Sidney
Beiderbecke, Bix
Berigan, Bunny
Berkeley Jazz Houses
Berry, Byron
Black Diamond Jazz Band
Blumberg, Jerry
Bolden, Buddy
Bruce, Bobby
Burp Hollow tapes
Butterman, Ted
Calloway, Blanche
Carter, Benny
Casa Loma Orchestra
Cattolica, Vince
Chace, Frank
Cheatham, Doc
Christian, Charlie
Christmas Jazz
Clayton, Buck
Club Hangover Archive
Club Hangover Rarities
Colman, Bunky
Cowboy Jazz
Dane, Barabara
Ellington, Duke: Live
Ellington, Duke: Tribute
Erickson, Bill
Erickson, Bill: Archive
Ekyan, Andre
Farey, Ev - Bay City JB
Fitzgerald, Ella
Goodman, Benny
Goodwin, Jim
Goudie, Frank Big Boy
Goudie in Paris 1924-39
Goudie's Paris
Goudie's San Francisco
Goudie, Frank: Music Pt 2
Goudie, Frank: Music Pt 3
Great Pacific Jazz Band
Handy, WC
Hayes, Clancy
Hayes, Clancy Archive
Helm, Bob
Hines, Earl Fatha
Holiday, Billie
Honeybucket tapes
International Sweethearts
Jazz Guitar Pioneers
Johnson, Bunk
Johnson, James P.
Joplin, Janis: Jazz tapes
Lang, Eddie
Larks Club tapes
Lashley, Barbara
Leonard, Ada - All Girl Orch
Lyttleton, Humphrey
McDonald, Stan: Programs
McDonald, Stan: Bonus
Men of the Blues
Mielke, Bob
Mielke Tapes archive
Misc Topics I
Misc Topics II
Monkey Inn Gang I
Monkey Inn Gang II
Morton, Jelly Roll
Murphy, Spud
Napier, Bill
New Black Eagle Jazz Band
Nods Taproom
Noone, Jimmie
NORK
Oakland Swingin' A's Jazz Band
ODJB
Ordinary, The tapes
Oxtot, Dick
Oxtot Golden Age JB
Pier 23 tapes
Price, Sammy
Reinhardt, Django
Rose, Wally
Russell, Pee Wee
Scheelar, Earl
Scheelar tape archive
Sharon Rogers Band
Shaw, Artie
Skjelbred, Ray
Smith, Bessie & Rainey, Ma
Smith, Jabbo
South, Eddie
South Frisco JB archive
Spanier, Muggsy
Stanton, PT '50s-'60s
Stanton, PT 1970s
Strickler, Benny: Frisco
Strickler, Benny: Tulsa
Teagarden, Jack
Vintage JAZZ RHYTHM
Waller, Fats
Washboard Rhythm Kings
West Coast Trad Jazz
Williams, Clarence
Women of Jazz
Women of Jazz (AUDIO)
Yerba Buena Jazz Band
Yerba Buena archive
YBJB Phil Elwood
Young, Lester
NY Festivals 2014
Gabriel Award 2011
Gabriel Award 2009
Gabriel Award 2004
Golden Reel 2003
Golden Reel 2002
Golden Reel 2001
Radlauer books
Writing and Essays
Tip Jar





Count Basie
and his Orchestra

World's Greatest Swing Orchestra

Now that its been a century since the birth of William “Count” Basie, its clear how crucial he was in bringing Swing music to full fruition.  Basie and the musicians who coalesced around him brimmed with talent, innovation & genius.

The best Basie orchestra tunes like “One O’clock Jump,” “Jumpin at the Woodside” and “Swinging the Blues” are based on simple riffs tossed between the reeds and brass, carried along by a buoyant rhythm section.  The Basie rhythm was superbly streamlined and subtle -- yet delivered terrific forward momentum and punch on the bandstand night after night.

Recordings from 1937-40 like, “Taxi War Dance,” “Every Tub,” or “Doggin Around” illustrate the Basie orchestra’s forward looking aesthetic & technique:
     * streamlined  4-beats to the measure swing;
     * loose head arrangements based on simple riffs;
     * call-and-response patterns between the brass and reed sections, soloists and ensemble;
     * inspired solo improvisation, especially Lester Young’s revolutionary tenor saxophone;
     * incomparable dynamic energy and rhythmic drive.


A Tribute to Count Basie and his Orchestra


COUNT_BASIE_1A.mp3
PAGIN’ THE DEVIL  --  Kansas City Six 1938
ROSELAND SHUFFLE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Live at The Famous Door, 1939
JOHN’S IDEA  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1937
TEXAS SHUFFLE  -- Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1938
TAKE IT PREZ  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Live at Southland Theater Restaurant, 1940
JUMPIN’ AT THE WOODSIDE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra,1938
ONE O’CLOCK JUMP  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Private Acetate, Glendale 1939

COUNT_BASIE_1B.mp3
PAGIN’ THE DEVIL  --  Kansas City Six 1938
ROSELAND SHUFFLE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, live 1939
JOHN’S IDEA  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1937
TEXAS SHUFFLE  -- Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1938
TAKE IT PRES  --  Live at Southland Theater Restaurant, 1940
JUMPIN’ AT THE WOODSIDE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1938
ONE O’CLOCK JUMP  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Private Acetate, Glendale 1939
   


COUNT_BASIE_2A.mp3
BILL'S MILL  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
TIME OUT  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Live at The Famous Door, 1939
MOTEN SWING  --  Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orch, 1932
BLUE ROOM  --  Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orch, 1932
DING DONG BLUES  --  The Dreamland Syncopators, Keith Nichols & Klaus Jacobi, 1987
BLUE DEVIL BLUES  --  Walter Page’s Blue Devils,  1929 
THERE’S A SQUABBLIN’   --  Walter Page’s Blue Devils, 1929
SWINGIN' AT THE DAISY CHAIN  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1937

COUNT_BASIE_2B.mp3
BLUE LESTER  --  Lester Young Quartet, 1944
JUMP LESTER JUMP  --  Lester Young Quartet, 1944
LADY BE GOOD  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, broadcast from Glendale, 1939
POUND CAKE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, broadcast from Glendale, 1939
SWINGIN’ THE BLUES  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
BACKSTAGE AT STUFF'S  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
JUMPIN’ AT THE WOODSIDE  --  Count Basie & Oscar Peterson, pianos, 1974
  


COUNT_BASIE_3A.mp3
BUGLE  BLUES  --  Count Basie and his All American Rhythm Section, 1942
HOW LONG BLUES  --  Count Basie & his All American Rhythm Section, 1942 
CAFE SOCIETY BLUES  --  Count Basie & his All American Rhythm Section, 1942
BASIE BOOGIE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1944
GOIN’ TO CHICAGO BLUES  --  Basie’s Bad Boys, vocal Jimmy Rushing, 1939 
BABY DON’T TELL ON ME  --  Jimmy Rushing, vocal, Live Southland Theater, 1940 
DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Helen Humes vocal Live, 1939 
YOUR RED WAGON  --  Jimmy Rushing vocal, 1947
DO YOU WANNA JUMP CHILDREN  --  Jimmy Rushing vocal, c. 1938

COUNT_BASIE_3B.mp3
THE DIRTY DOZEN  --  [Basie and Rhythm], 1938
SWING, BROTHER SWING  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Billie Holiday vocal Live, 1937 
I CANT GET STARTED  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Billie Holiday vocal, Live 1937 
ME, MYSELF AND I  --  Billie Holiday and her Orchestra, 1937
SENT FOR YOUR YESTERDAY  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Jimmy Rushing, 1957
EVERY DAY I HAVE THE BLUES  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, Joe Williams, vocal, 1958
DICKIE’S DREAM  --  Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven, 1939
SEVENTH AVENUE EXPRESS  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
   


COUNT_BASIE_4A.mp3
BOOGIE WOOGIE BLUES  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, live vocal Jimmy Rushing, 1939
BOOGIE WOOGIE  --  [Basie and Rhythm], 1938
HOUSE RENT BOOGIE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
RED BANK BOOGIE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1961
BYE BYE BABY  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, vocal Jimmy Rushing, 1947
NOW WILL YOU BE GOOD?  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, vocal J. Rushing, 1938
GETTING SOME FUN OUT OF LIFE  --  Billie Holiday & her Orchestra, 1937
TRAVELING ALL ALONE  --  Billie Holiday and her Orchestra, 1937

COUNT_BASIE_4B.mp3
APRIL IN PARIS  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1955
ROSES OF PICARDY  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, vocal Jimmy Rushing, Glendale, 1939
BRAND NEW WAGON  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, vocal Jimmy Rushing, 1947
DON’T CRY BABY  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, vocal Jimmy Rushing, 1944
ROCK-A-BYE BASIE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1944
9:20 SPECIAL  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1944
ONE O’CLOCK BOOGIE  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1947
I AIN’T GOT NOBODY  --  Basie’s Bad Boys, 1939
I’VE FOUND A NEW BABY  --  Count Basie and his Orchestra, 1944
  

Lester Leaps In

Tenor saxophonist Lester Young was the brightest star and resident genius of the Basie organization.  In the late-1930s he radically changed saxophone style with a highly original approach that defied the existing rules of jazz instrumentals.  Young abandoned the predominant Coleman Hawkins tenor saxophone sound of rich overtones and deep vibrato and  improvisation on harmony.

Instead Lester focused on melody, while streamlining and stripping it down, simplifying and abbreviating tunes as he explored harmony and melody.  The tone of his instrument was lighter, and Young exploited 4-beat rhythms to generating a more dance oriented rhythmic signature.

Lester Young is always doing the unexpected.  His choices of line and phrase, melodic intervals and accents continually surprises.  With Lester the notes he chooses NOT to play are as significant as the notes he DOES play.

The famous “Lester Leaps In” with the 1939 Kansas City Seven, a small unit of the Basie band, demonstrates his economic and unexpected choice of notes; odd harmonic intervals; light, almost brass-like sax tone; and simplification of the melody line, itself an abbreviation of “I Got Rhythm.”

Supporting Lester, the soloists and orchestra, was the Basie rhythm section: THE finest of the swing era.  Drummer Jo Jones was just as spare and economical with his drums and brushes as Basie was on piano.


BASIE ORCH LESTER LEAPS IN.mp3

Investigating Lester Young's sound.
 

Bassist Walter Page drove the Rhythm

Bass player Walter Page was crucial in shaping Kansas City swing.  He developed key rhythmic innovations in precursor bands.  He was a masterful veteran of the seminal Benny Moten Orchestra, and his own legendary Blue Devils.  

Called “Big Un” Page served as a mentor and behind the scenes architect of the radically new Basie rhythm section.  His unique approach retained the spontaneity of small band jazz within a larger ensemble.  

One of his key insights was restraint: Page instructed the rhythm section to bring the VOLUME down, but keep the INTENSITY up.  This offered dynamic range and created space for the blending of timbres -- resulting in the rhythm section sounding seamless, almost like one instrument, leaving more room for the band’s remarkable soloists.

Page also encouraged continually shifting the rhythm in order to counterpoint and support the horns and soloists.  Contrasts in the rhythm patterns emphasized the various transitions and shifting colors of the front line horns, creating a supportive and highly flexible undercarriage for the band’s powerhouse brass and reed sections.




BASIES NEW RHTYHM.mp3

Investigating the finest rhythm section of the Swing era.
    



Don't Forget the Vocalists


The Basie innovations extended to the vocalists as well.  Jimmy Rushing succeeded at adapting blues to a modern swing band better than just about anyone else.  He had a surprisingly light and youngish sounding voice for such a large man, nicknamed “Mr. Five-by-Five.”

Billie Holiday sang with the Basie orchestra; but she wasn’t a blues singer.  Yes, she could bend a blue note and was influenced by the blues, but Holiday was primarily a jazz singer.  (She used her voice interpretively the way a jazz instrumentalist did.  In early years her song material was mostly ballads & pop songs with very little actual blues content.)

During her year with Count Basie 1937-38, Billie became very close with the band members, developing a remarkable musical relationship with Lester Young and apparently a love relationship with trumpet player Buck Clayton.  Sadly, she couldn’t record with Basie because of her contract with a competing record label, though a few air checks have been issued over the years. 

Fortunately Holiday drew heavily from the Basie personnel for her own recordings.  In those sessions -- nominally under the musical direction of pianist Teddy Wilson -- we hear the continuation of her intimate dialog with the Basie-ites: Lester Young, Buck Clayton and the remarkable Basie rhythm players, Jo Jones (drums) and Freddie Green (guitar).

Holiday’s best sessions of the late 1940s feature Lester deftly backing and supporting her vocal line, creating a pleasing counter-melody; Buck Clayton’s muted trumpet ‘fills’ -- sensitively placed between her breaths and pauses; and a smooth blending of instruments in a relaxed atmosphere of fellowship.



Bill Basie: the Kid from Red Bank

Count Basie, himself was not from the Midwest but hailed originally from Red Bank, New Jersey.  Basie’s mother was his first piano teacher, which might have influenced the nurturing way he directed his musicians from the keyboard.  He clearly learned well from the two masters he had received instruction from, James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.   

Basie was stranded in Kansas City when a band he was touring with went bust.  He stayed for the thriving nightlife that was generating work for entertainers.  Kansas City, Missouri during prohibition and in the early years of the Great Depression was a wide-open “sin city” under the benign dictatorship of gangster and political boss, Tom Pendergast.

In Kansas City Basie hooked up with the best connected musical outfit; Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra.  Moten was a fair pianist, composer and musical director with connections to the Pendergast political machine that generated work for his band.  Moten built a large aggregation of formidable musical talent, including tenor sax giant Ben Webster; trumpeter Hot Lips Page; trombonist, guitarist and arranger Eddie Durham; singer Jimmy Rushing, and bassist Walter Page.

As he fused the best elements of stride, blues, boogie and jazz piano into a personal voice Basie trimmed off anything that impeded rhythmic momentum; always simplifying his instrumental vocabulary.  Like Lester Young he was deliberately abstracting and abbreviating, surprising the ear equally with both the notes he played, and the notes he chose NOT to play.

Basie developed a highly personal style of his own that was subtle and spare: based on understatement.  On his small-band discs he was brilliantly supported by his famed rhythm section.

In the 1930s and ‘40s Basie’s onstage persona and public image was suave and handsome.  Later as an elder statesmen of jazz, he was cherubic and gnome-like.

During the 1950s and ‘60s Basie reinvented his band, utilizing some of the best arrangers around: Quincy Jones, Neal Hefti, Benny Carter, and Thad Jones.  He hired top flight soloists like Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, drummer Buddy Rich, Clark Terry and Buddy de Franco, and recorded with popular stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.  

Basie’s orchestra toured the United States, Europe and Japan, and he became an evergreen: down to earth; true to jazz and blues.  William “Count” Basie was deeply loved and  respected by his fans musicians until his passing in 1984.


COUNT BASIE's KANSAS CITY SOUND (mp3)
  










Star trumpet player
of the Basie Orchestra,
Buck Clayton

More about Clayton, here.


Tip Jar

This site is free.  But you can help sustain it, and encourage me with donation to the tip jar.

Secure payment through PayPal is anonymous, except that I will see your e-mail address.


Donations are paid securely through PayPal.

Donation $5.00
Donation $10.00
Donation $20.00
Donation $35.00
Donation $50.00
Donation: You decide