Count Basie
Count Basie, William Basie, was born the 21st August
1904 in Red Bank (New Jersey).
Some later he moved to New York, where his career started.
His mother and a New Yorker teacher gave him his first lessons on
the piano, so he learned very early playing the piano. Some years
later, about 1920, he met his main-teacher, Fats Waller, who had the
same age. He watched him playing organ in the "Lincoln
Theatre" in Harlem, New York.
He took every job he could get, to earn some money. After a
extend period of such jobs, he had to stay without money in Kansas
City. He stayed there waiting for better times. He worked in a
cinema as a piano-player for a while to get some money.
The times he was waiting for came in 1928, when he joined the
"Blue Devils", an orchestra from Oklahoma. This band was
one of the best ones in this region at this time. Famous musicians
like Lester Young and Buster Smith played in it.
Later the all came together in Bennie Moten’s Band. Basie,
Rushing and Durham were the first ones to leave the "Blue
Devils". In the new band Basie took the part of the secondary
piano-player, the first one was Bennie Moten himself.
As Bennie Moten died, his brother lead the band. After a short
period the other saw that the new bandleader could not replace the
old one. One week later Count Basie already search for an other job.
Six months later he and the best musicians from the old band founded
a new band. They gave their first concert in a club called the
"Reno Club".
John Hammond heard one of these concert and proposed to Bennie
Goodmann, from MCA, and his Manager Willard Alexander to listen to
one of the band’s concerts. These men gave the band a chance to
give a bigger concert in New York.
In March 1937 Billie Holiday joined the ensemble.
The 16th and 17th January 1938 Basie’s
band fought a musical battle against Chick Webb’s Orchestra. Basie
won this competition and got the crown for the best big band of that
time.
Count Basie had his greatest successes with songs like
"Boogie Woogie" and "Way back Blues".
William Basie, or Bill as he was called by his friends, was one
of the greatest musicians and bandleaders of the swing-era and the
following years. His is directly after the band of Duke Ellington
the best one in the history of Jazz.
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