MP3 Exclusives New Arrivals   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Metal Pop Punk R&B Rap/Hip Hop Reggae Rock   Top Downloads Features Archive Contests Control Panel MUSICBLITZ Alert!   METALBLITZ REGGAEBLITZ BLUESBLITZ Musician's Friend   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Hip Hop Metal Pop Punk R&B Reggae Rock   Getting Started Free Players	Welcome !      Count Basie Maybe jazz’s greatest-ever bandleader, William “Count” Basie practically defined “team player” throughout his momentous 60-year career. Underrated as a pianist, his spare but brilliant playing held together some of the finest bands the planet has ever known. Meanwhile, he continually emphasized the importance of the rhythm section -- not only helping to kick start the big band era, but also paving the way for rock and roll. Taught piano by his mother, the New Jersey native moved across the river to New York as a teen, and was schooled by legendary stride players like Fats Waller and James P. Johnson. But at first, he put the training to use on the vaudeville circuit -- and after getting stranded in Kansas City, began playing organ in a silent movie theater. But after stints with bandleaders Walter Page and Bennie Moten, Basie and some other ex-Moten sidemen formed a nine-piece group called the Barons of Rhythm. The band was so popular it got a regular radio show and a record deal with Decca in the mid-‘30s, and soon became the first Count Basie Orchestra. A national tour and signature hits like “One O’Clock Jump” and “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” made Basie and his men (including “The Prez,” saxman Lester Young) stars, a position they kept up throughout the ‘40s, as big names like trumpeter Clark Terry and tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet added their skills to the crucial rhythm section: Basie, bassist Walter Page, drummer Jo Jones and guitarist Freddie Green. In 1949, Basie -- like many other bandleaders -- had to break up his big group because of tight finances. But unlike most others, Basie not only reconvened his orchestra (in 1952), but watched it thrive, thanks to boosts from vocalist Joe Williams, who joined in 1955, and swinging hit versions of “April in Paris” and “Shiny Stockings.” The Count also ruled during the ‘50s because of dazzling arrangements, many written by Neil Hefti. While the pop music boom of the ‘60s saw Basie and other jazz legends forced to resort to covering Beatles tunes, the Count also dueted with Ellington, Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald during that eventful decade. Basie then signed to Norman Granz’s Pablo label in the early ‘70s and delivered a string of outstanding albums, including five collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson that showed the Count was no slouch behind the keys. Basie continued to record and tour with his orchestra up until his death in 1984 at age 80, but his former sidemen were determined not to let the group die as well. Trumpeter Thad Jones and saxophonist Frank Foster have both led the band post-Basie, successfully continuing a legacy that stretches across an incredibly wide array of music.     Count Basie How High The Moon (feat. Anita O'Day) LiquidAudio Jazz Classic Count from his swinging ‘40s radio days: the sound’s not sharp, but Basie and Co. are still the bomb!
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