Your email address will not be published. [40] His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "Pennies from Heaven" and "Honeysuckle Rose". By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. cushion. E-Commerce Site for Mobius GPO Members count basie daughter died. From the Archives: Count Basie, 79, Master of Understated Swing, Dies [12][13] His touring took him to Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. Jazz was especially appreciated in France, The Netherlands, and Germany in the 1950s; these countries were the stomping grounds for many expatriate American jazz stars who were either resurrecting their careers or sitting out the years of racial divide in the United States. One of them, Aaron Woodward, a Long Island Baptist pastor and accountant, was considered an informally adopted son by Basie, according to a report by Jet magazine. [2][3] His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. saxophonist Lester Young. onenighters, and the bebop revolution of the mid-1940s all played a role A stocky, handsome man with heavy-lidded eyes and a sly smile, Basie was It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Diane Lillian Basie (1944-2022), the beloved only child of the legendary jazz musician, William James "Count" Basie and his wife, Catherine Morgan Basie. Count Basie and his Orchestra played at the tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert also at Wrigley Field on June 20, 1954. During his last years he had difficulty walking and After Motens death in 1935, Basie started his band, the Count Basie Orchestra. While on one tour he became stranded in Kansas City, Missouri. time!". [14] Before he was 20 years old, he toured extensively on the Keith and TOBA vaudeville circuits as a solo pianist, accompanist, and music director for blues singers, dancers, and comedians. When You Breathe In Your Diaphragm Does What. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. The band keeps on touring around the country under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart. Count and Mrs. Basie were true socialites - often gathering with friends including celebrities Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Basie protg Quincy Jones. Count was 79 years old at the time of death. His The Basie band played at President John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball, and in 1965 toured with Frank Sinatra. But Moten was an expert piano player himself, and Basie fashioned a job for himself as the bands staff arranger. See the Count Basie Orchestra Discography. He got some jobs in Asbury Park at the Jersey Shore, and played at the Hong Kong Inn until a better player took his place.[10]. We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. superior arrangements (reflecting Basie's good taste) and the These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. [73], On April 11, 1983, Catherine Basie died of heart disease at the couple's home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. While on one tour he became stranded Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Basie Mr. Basie's musicians had been playing "head" arrangements in Kansas City--treatments of the blues or pop tunes that were worked out vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singer Gonzelle White as well as Crippen. [24] During a stay in Chicago, Basie recorded with the band. returned to his first lovethe big bandand it thrived. Count Basie - Black Heritage Commemorative Society She even toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and Basie also met on the 1979 albums A Classy Pair, Digital III at Montreux, and A Perfect Match, the last two also recorded live at Montreux. William James "Count" Basie (/besi/; August 21, 1904 April 26, 1984)[1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. He also hired arrangers who knew how to maximize the band's abilities, such as Eddie Durham and Jimmy Mundy. "Big Name Bands, Singers in 'Cavalcade of Music' Sept. 23", Basie, Jordan, Prado Top Jazz Cavalcade Article, "Sugar Chile" Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman, Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975, Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson The Timekeepers, The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet, "On This Day: Count Basie, 79, Band Leader And Master of Swing, Dead", "Jackie Wilson & Count Basie Manufacturers Of Soul at Discogs", "Manufacturers of Soul by Jackie Wilson: Reviews and Ratings", "Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez To Be Awarded Honorary Doctor of Music Degree From Berklee College of Music", "Count Basie, Jack Nicholson, Les Paul make New Jersey Hall of Fame", "2005 National Recording Registry choices", The Count Basie Orchestra official website, International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation. His home for many years was in Freeport, the Bahamas; he died of cancer at Doctors' Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. During the 1940's, many of the great jazz musicians of the decade passed through the band, among them Illinois Jacquet, Don Byas, Wardell Gray, Paul Quinichette, Lucky Thompson, J. J. Johnson, Paul He occasionally played four-hand piano and dual pianos with Moten, who also conducted. Date of Death: April 26, 1984. All We Know about the Award-Winning Composer, His Life, and Legacy, Rich Old Man Left More than $10M Estate to 11 Heirs One Keeps Portion Worth Millions for Herself, Who Is Lionel Richie Married To? "[64] In 1957, Basie sued the jazz venue Ball and Chain in Miami over outstanding fees, causing the closure of the venue. But the obvious talents of another young Red Bank drummer, Sonny Greer, It was on one of these broadcasts that Bill Basie became Count Basie. Mr. Basie, a short, stocky, taciturn but witty man who liked to wear a yachting cap offstage, presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. on the stand. 1981 interview cited in "The Lester Young Story" (Properbox 16), pp. He died of cancer in Discouraged by the obvious talents of Sonny Greer, who also lived in Red Bank and became Duke Ellington's drummer in 1919, Basie switched to piano exclusively at age 15. During his orchestras peak years in the 1920s and 30s, he helped define the sound of big-band jazz, pioneering musical ideas which today are taken for granted. Is that all right with you?' Two years later, they were the most famous African American band in the country. The Basie band was looser and had a more relaxed swing feeling. In 1981, Mr. Basie was honored along with Cary Grant, Helen Hayes and other stars as a Basie was often recognized for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and his precise, impeccable musical leadership. The band will continue under the guidance of Aaron Woodward, an adopted son of Mr. Basie who has worked closely with the orchestra leader during the last year. Another boost was provided in the late 1950s by the recording of April 27, 1984 7 AM PT. She was 67 years old. For the next two years he led small bands between six and nine pieces. Basie now called Kansas City home. Neal Hefti began to provide arrangements, including "Lil Darlin'". How Did Count Basie Die? - FAQS Clear [72] The Basies bought a home in the new whites-only neighborhood of Addisleigh Park in 1946 on Adelaide Road and 175th Street, St. Albans, Queens. He and his band recorded with When did Count Basie start playing the piano? The swing era band Best Answer Copy William "Count" Basie and his wife Catherine had a daughter, Diane, who lived in Freeport, Bahamas at the time of Basie's death in 1984. 6 Who was Count Basies adopted son on Long Island? who was Duke Ellington's drummer from 1919 to 1951, discouraged young Basie and he switched to piano. How did the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington differ? Then when he develops his big band, he reunites with Eddie Durham. 5 How old was Catherine Basie when she died? Basie died April 26, 1984 in Hollywood, FL but his legacy is still swinging strong. "Can you imagine a man who kind of romps around the piano," Mr. Shearing said, Provide Feedback Form, Rutgers, The State University of When Basie died of pancreatic cancer in 1984 at the age of 79, he left his $1.5 million fortune in a trust to provide for Diane. "One night the announcer called me to the microphone for those usual few words of introduction," Mr. Basie once recalled. After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. The agent, Willard Alexander, said Mrs. Basie died while her husband was appearing at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. When the Page band broke up in 1929, Mr. Provide Feedback Form. He was the arbiter of the big-band swing sound and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Two of Basie's earliest desktop goose android. Count and Catherine were. stylea solid rhythm backing the horn soloists, who were also As Metronome magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's"; the article described the evening: Throughout the fight, which never let down in its intensity during the whole fray, Chick took the aggressive, with the Count playing along easily and, on the whole, more musically scientifically. But it was in Harlem, New York City, that he learned the basics of piano, mainly from his sometime organ teacher, the great Fats Waller (19041943). William Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 21, 1904. Their only child, Diane, was born February 6, 1944. rehearsal and then written down later. Basie's 14-man band began playing at the Famous Door, a mid-town nightspot with a CBS network feed and air conditioning, which Hammond was said to have bought the club in return for their booking Basie steadily throughout the summer of 1938. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. According to court papers, Diane is severely retarded and only marginally communicative, so Basie left two co-trustees he considered his close friends in charge of his estate and his daughter. On the West Coast, in 1942 the band did a spot in Reveille With Beverly, a musical film starring Ann Miller, and a "Command Performance" for Armed Forces Radio, with Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Carmen Miranda, Jerry Colonna, and the singer Dinah Shore. His touring took him to Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. In the early 1970s, the Basies moved to the warmer climate of Freeport, Bahamas. His daughter, Diane Basie, now 71 and living in Florida. Even in Harlem, it puzzled the aware audiences at the Savoy Ballroom. The Count Basie Orchestra, today directed by Scotty Barnhart, has won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once, won 18 Grammy Awards, performed for Kings, Queens, and other world Royalty, appeared in several movies, television shows, at every major jazz festival and major concert hall in the world. groups' recordings were of the highest quality, but in 1951 Basie [35] Lester Young, known as "Prez" by the band, came up with nicknames for all the other band members. He played along with The Flairs, Christine Kittrell, Lamp Lighters, Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five, Ruth Brown, and Perez Prado and his Orchestra.[59]. favorites, "Jumpin' at the Woodside" and
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