Count Basie Orchestra

During the swing era, few bandleaders rivaled the stature of Count Basie. Aside from a brief hiatus in the early 1950s, he directed a large ensemble from 1935 until his passing nearly five decades later, after which the orchestra maintained an active performance schedule. The pianist shaped a group distinguished by its buoyant, swinging rhythm section, animated collective playing, and plentiful solo features. Unlike Duke Ellington, Basie did not concentrate on composition, nor did he emerge as a leading soloist in the manner of Benny Goodman; the band itself functioned as his instrument, widely regarded as the embodiment of swing and a pervasive influence on jazz.

Both parents pursued music: Harvie Basie performed on mellophone, while Lillian (Childs) Basie, a pianist, provided her son with initial instruction. Additional guidance came from Harlem stride pianists, especially Fats Waller. Early professional engagements involved accompanying vaudeville acts, and Basie found himself stranded in Kansas City in 1927 when a touring troupe disbanded. He remained in the Midwestern city, initially playing at a silent film theater before joining Walter Page’s Blue Devils in July 1928, where Jimmy Rushing served as vocalist. Early in 1929 Basie departed to work with additional groups and eventually joined the ensemble led by Bennie Moten. Following Moten’s death on April 2, 1935, Basie performed as a soloist before assembling a nine-piece unit first known as the Barons of Rhythm; several former Moten musicians participated, including Walter Page on bass, Freddie Green on guitar, Jo Jones on drums, and Lester Young on tenor saxophone, with Jimmy Rushing again handling vocals. The group secured a residency at Kansas City’s Reno Club and began radio broadcasts during which an announcer bestowed the title “Count” on the pianist.

A pivotal opportunity arose when journalist and producer John Hammond heard one of the broadcasts and promoted Basie to agents and labels. Consequently, the band departed Kansas City in autumn 1936 for an engagement at Chicago’s Grand Terrace, followed by a Buffalo, NY, appearance and a December arrival at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Its first Decca Records session took place in January 1937. After expansion and personnel shifts, the orchestra returned to Chicago and later performed at Boston’s Ritz Carlton Hotel. Its September 1937 recording of “One O’Clock Jump” marked the initial chart entry; the track became the ensemble’s signature theme and later entered the Grammy Hall of Fame.

An extended 1938 residency at New York’s Famous Door solidified commercial success. With Rushing on vocals, “Stop Beatin’ Round the Mulberry Bush” reached the Top Ten that autumn. Basie spent the first half of 1939 in Chicago before switching from Decca to Columbia Records, then traveled to the West Coast in the fall. Extensive touring marked the early 1940s, yet U.S. entry into World War II in December 1941 and the recording ban beginning August 1942 limited movement. While on the West Coast the band appeared in five 1943 films—Hit Parade of 1943, Reveille with Beverly, Stage Door Canteen, Top Man, and Crazy House. A string of Top Ten pop and R&B hits followed, among them “I Didn’t Know About You” (pop, winter 1945), “Red Bank Blues” (R&B, winter 1945), “Rusty Dusty Blues” (R&B, spring 1945), “Jimmy’s Blues” (pop and R&B, summer/fall 1945), and “Blue Skies” (pop, summer 1946). After moving to RCA Victor, “Open the Door, Richard!” topped the charts in February 1947; three additional Top Ten pop singles appeared that year: “Free Eats,” “One O’Clock Boogie,” and “I Ain’t Mad at You (You Ain’t Mad at Me).”

Declining popularity of big bands in the late 1940s prompted Basie to disband the orchestra at decade’s end and lead smaller groups for several years. He reconstituted the large ensemble in 1952 amid renewed touring prospects, making a first European trip to Scandinavia in 1954; international engagements thereafter became a major component of his itinerary. Vocalist Joe Williams joined in late 1954. Commercial resurgence arrived with the 1955 Clef Records album Count Basie Swings – Joe Williams Sings, propelled by “Every Day (I Have the Blues),” which reached the R&B Top Five and later joined the Grammy Hall of Fame. An instrumental “April in Paris” also charted, entering the pop Top 40 and R&B Top Ten in early 1956 and likewise earning Grammy Hall of Fame status. Albert Murray, co-author of Basie’s autobiography Good Morning Blues, described this lineup as the “new testament” edition. Williams remained until 1960, yet prosperity continued afterward.

At the inaugural Grammy Awards, Basie captured 1958 honors for Best Performance by a Dance Band and Best Jazz Performance, Group, for the Roulette LP Basie. Breakfast Dance and Barbecue earned a 1959 dance-band nomination, while Dance with Basie won the category in 1960; that same year The Count Basie Story received nominations for Best Performance by an Orchestra and Best Jazz Performance, Large Group. Further jazz-performance nominations followed for Basie at Birdland (1961) and The Legend (1962). Seeking broader sales, Basie moved to Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label in 1962; Sinatra-Basie reached the Top Five in early 1963. This Time by Basie! Hits of the 50’s and 60’s climbed into the Top 20 and secured the 1963 Grammy for Best Performance by an Orchestra for Dancing.

A commercially oriented phase, often criticized by jazz enthusiasts, extended through the remainder of the 1960s as Basie collaborated with vocalists on charting albums: Ella Fitzgerald (Ella and Basie!, 1963), Sinatra again (the Top 20 It Might as Well Be Swing, 1964), Sammy Davis, Jr. (Our Shining Hour, 1965), the Mills Brothers (The Board of Directors, 1968), and Jackie Wilson (Manufacturers of Soul, 1968). Broadway Basie’s … Way, an album of show tunes, also charted in 1966.

By the close of the decade Basie returned to a stronger jazz orientation. Standing Ovation garnered a 1969 Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance by a Large Group or Soloist with Large Group (Eight or More). In 1970, with Oliver Nelson serving as arranger/conductor, he recorded the experimental Afrique, which earned a 1971 nomination for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band. Festival circuits and cruise-ship engagements increasingly defined the band’s schedule. After several short-term label associations, Basie signed with Pablo Records in the early 1970s and remained there for the rest of his career. Pablo documented the band extensively, yielding well-received albums: Basie Jam received a 1975 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Performance by a Group; Basie and Zoot earned a nomination in the same category in 1976 and won for Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist; Prime Time captured the 1977 award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band; and The Gifted Ones with Dizzy Gillespie received a 1979 nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance by a Group. Subsequent entries in the Best Jazz Instrumental Performance by a Big Band category brought wins in 1980 for On the Road and in 1982 for Warm Breeze, a 1983 nomination for Farmer’s Market Barbecue, and a ninth career Grammy in 1984 for 88 Basie Street.

Health declined during Basie’s final eight years. A 1976 heart attack sidelined him for several months; another hospitalization occurred in 1981. Upon returning, he used an electric wheelchair to reach the stage. He died of cancer at age 79.

Fellow musicians and audiences alike held Basie in high regard, and he maintained remarkable steadiness throughout a career that extended well beyond the period when swing functioned as a contemporary style. After his death the orchestra continued as one of the more vibrant ghost bands, later directed successively by Thad Jones, Frank Foster, and Grover Mitchell. The lengthy tenure produced an extensive discography spanning every major label and numerous smaller ones.