in the death of the big-band era. Age at Death: 79. 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. The couple had an only daughter, Diane Basie, whos now a 74-year-old disabled woman. 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. onto every note, sitting behind him all the time. There will be a viewing at Benta's Funeral Home, 630 St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street, on Sunday from 1 to 7 P.M. Count Basie | Official Site for one of the greatest bandleaders of all epitome of swing, of jazz that moved with a built-in flowing intensity. Their neighbors included Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson and Milt Hinton. The "book" of this early Basie band was based on blues and riffs developed on a blues structure. Count Basie - Wikipedia Sometimes the arrangement In 1950, when big bands were falling apart, Mr. Basie cut down to an eight-piece group but by 1952 he was leading a big band once again. ABC World News Tonight feature on death of Count Basie on - YouTube count basie daughter died - mobiusgpo.com For the next two years he led small bands between six and nine pieces. Provide Feedback Form. Two of Basie's earliest After Motens death in 1935, Basie started his band, the Count Basie Orchestra. Basie now called Kansas City home. Jazz at Santa . 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. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. From the time Count Basie's "Old Testament Band" surged out of Kansas City in 1936 and brought his irrepressible mixture of blues and riff-based head arrangements to New York until his death in 1984, Basie and the bands he led were a touchstone of jazz history. many other famous artists, including Duke Ellington (18991974), Ellington was a composer who played piano, but he really used the band as his expressive instrument. We proudly celebrate Red Bank New Jersey's most famous musical son during . [40] His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "Pennies from Heaven" and "Honeysuckle Rose". What Is The Origin Of Springerle Cookies? Diane Basie | The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra Here is all you want to know, and more! A pianist, Count Basie played vaudeville before eventually forming his own big band and helping to define the era of swing with hits like One OClock Jump and Blue Skies. In 1958, Basie became the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award. Basie added touches of bebop "so long as it made sense", and he required that "it all had to have feeling". era he also shared the less appealing one-nighters (a series of single Copyright 2023, Rutgers, The State University of In 1957, Basie the live album Count Basie at Newport. Basie died April 26, 1984 in Hollywood, FL but his legacy is still swinging strong. When the Page band broke up in 1929, Mr. "He commented that Bill Basie was a rather ordinary name and that band in 1950, juggling combinations of all-star musicians. a few moments before. Mr. Basie's band, more than any other, was the [38] Compared to the reigning band of Fletcher Henderson, Basie's band lacked polish and presentation. with Rutgers web sites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier or document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday. His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. As a pianist Basie. When Bennie Moten died in 1935, the band disintegrated and Mr. Basie organized a small band to play at the Reno Club in Kansas City that became the nucleus of the band with which he gained his initial 5 How old was Catherine Basie when she died? bands in history. The Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and 40s. In 1976, Mr. Basie suffered a heart attack. [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. Early years William Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 21, 1904. Is the Count Basie Orchestra still alive? On September 11, 1996, the U.S. Post Office issued a Count Basie 32 cents postage stamp. From that time on, I was a daily customer, hanging Their daughter, Iska, died at the age of 14 after a series . [4] Both of his parents had some type of musical background. [68] He was a guest on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, a venue also opened to several other black entertainers. 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. Basie liked the results and named the piece "One O'Clock Jump". the Basie band. He got used to seeing me, as though I were part of the show. Who taught Count Basie how do you play the piano? "heads"arrangements worked out without planning in In May 1970, Sinatra performed in London's Royal Festival Hall with the Basie orchestra, in a charity benefit for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. At 16. 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. Within a year The agent, Willard Alexander, said Mrs. Basie died while her husband was appearing at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The following year, in 1929, Basie became the pianist with the Bennie Moten band based in Kansas City, inspired by Moten's ambition to raise his band to match the level of those led by Duke Ellington or Fletcher Henderson. Basie was a true innovator leading the band for almost 50 years and recording on over 480 albums. so rode out on stage in a motorized wheelchair. on a motorized wheelchair which he sometimes drove with joyful abandon. Throughout his tours, Basie met many jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. was a member of the Basie band in the 1940's. Mr. Basie's musicians had been playing "head" arrangements in Kansas City--treatments of the blues or pop tunes that were worked out Count Basie | Official Site for one of the greatest bandleaders of all They have one child. Basie also toured with Bennett, including a date at Carnegie Hall. His Family After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. 1983. The band keeps on touring around the country under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart. Died: April 26, 1984 Hollywood, Florida African American bandleader and musician Count Basie was an extremely popular figure in the jazz world for half a century. "[64] In 1957, Basie sued the jazz venue Ball and Chain in Miami over outstanding fees, causing the closure of the venue. The place catered to "uptown celebrities", and typically the band winged every number without sheet music using "head arrangements". In 2012, Manhattan Surrogates Court Justice Kristin Booth Glen removed Woodward from his position as Diane guardian after he failed to explain the missing money from Dianes account. Basie was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. 1415. Today, Charlie Yardbird Parker is considered one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century. His touring took him to Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. [18] A few months later, he was invited to join the band, which played mostly in Texas and Oklahoma. experienced so many changes in musical fashion, especially after the However, throughout the 1940s, he maintained a big band that possessed an infectious rhythmic beat, an enthusiastic team spirit, and a long list of inspired and talented jazz soloists. Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday . They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. He went out on tour with on the vaudeville and TOBA circuits again until his performance group disbanded in the mid-1920s, leaving him stuck in Kansas City. Is that all right with you?' Catherine L. "Katy" Morgan Basie (1914-1983) - Find a Grave The World of Count Basie. Your email address will not be published. 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). What was the greatest era of the Basie band? Catherine Basie, wife of Count Basie, the jazz musician and band leader, died of a heart attack yesterday at the couple's home in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, according to Mr. Basie's agent. [41], Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday, whom he invited to sing with the band. count basie daughter died Darlin'"), Ernie Wilkins and Frank Foster ("Shiny Stockings") were among the most notable orchestrators. One of the band's most popular arrangements, "April in Paris," was written in 1955 by Wild Bill Davis, a jazz organist who had originally developed it for his own small group. When William James "Count" Basie died of cancer in 1984, he left his $1.5 million fortune in a trust to provide for his only child. 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. Basie decided to form a medium-sized 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. Jazz Musician. From then on, it was Count Basie.". Dance, Stanley. The couple kept her and cared deeply for her, and especially through her mother's tutelage, Diane learned not only to walk but to swim. onenighters, and the bebop revolution of the mid-1940s all played a role What happened to Count Basie daughter? - Sage-Advices "He certainly made a notch in musical history," said Benny Goodman, 75 years old, the jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire, featuring a dance solo to "Sweet Georgia Brown", followed in January 1961 by Basie performing at one of the five John F. Kennedy Inaugural Balls. On July 21, 1930, Basie married Vivian Lee Winn, in Kansas City, Missouri. [17], In 1928, Basie was in Tulsa and heard Walter Page and his Famous Blue Devils, one of the first big bands, which featured Jimmy Rushing on vocals. She was 67 years old. In the early 1970s, the Basies moved to the warmer climate of Freeport, Bahamas. He soon started booking the band and shopping them to agents and record companies forging their big break. He was a fine pianist and leader of one of the greatest jazz dealing with the egos of his musicians. (193545) was unquestionably Basie's greatest. Count Basie Biography - parents, death, history, wife, school, mother In 1981, Mr. Basie was honored along with Cary Grant, Helen Hayes and other stars as a in a 14th Street dance hall. Count Basie. Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One O'Clock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. With Mr. Basie's 13 men in full cry at one end of this elongated closet, the sound ricocheting off the walls and rocketing down from the low ceiling, no listener could escape the exhilarating power Born: August 21, 1904 Sinatra later said of this concert "I have a funny feeling that those two nights could have been my finest hour, really. The band survived Basie's death, with ex-Basie-ite trumpeter Thad Jones directing until his death in 1986. [79] In his autobiography, he wrote, "I think the band can really swing when it swings easy, when it can just play along like you are cutting butter."[80]. She was married to Count Basie since August 21, 1942 until her death in 1983. [12][13] His touring took him to Kansas City, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Chicago. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as swing began to fade, the effects of the musicians' strikes of 194244 and 1948 began to be felt, and the public's taste grew for singers. After a decade-long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. William (Count) Basie, who produced more music with two fingers than most pianists get out of 10, died Thursday in a hospital in Hollywood, Fla., where he had been admitted . Shortly after he got there, he got a gig replacing Fats Waller with a touring vaudeville act. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Behind the occasional bebop solos, he always kept his strict rhythmic pulse, "so it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat". He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary. He flicked out tightly economical, single-finger Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. "April in Paris" (arrangement by Wild Bill Davis) was a best-selling instrumental and the title song for the hit album. He couldnt write music at the time, but his ear was perfect. Basie's band was sharing Birdland with such bebop musicians as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. Birthday: August 21, 1904. At a White House reception, President Reagan said that Mr. Basie was "among the handful of musicians that helped change the path of American music in the 30's and the 40's" and that he had "revolutionized jazz.". After working briefly as house organist in a Page, a bassist--Jimmy Rushing, the blues signer, both of whom would be key members of Mr. Basie's band. They paced themselves to save their hottest numbers for later in the show, to give the audience a chance to warm up. Released: 1967 . Count Basie was a bandleader and pianist who was at the forefront of American big band music in the mid-twentieth century. His wife, Catherine, had died in 1983; they had one daughter. Well, the Roseland is still standing". It was here that he was introduced to the big-band sound when he joined Walter Pages Blue Devils in 1928. While on one tour he became stranded Scale for the musicians at the Reno Club, where beer was a nickel and whisky was 15 cents, was $15 a week for playing from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M., except Saturdays when it was 8 P.M. until 8 A.M. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. They had one daughter. [47], A few months later, Holiday left for Artie Shaw's band. However, the man ended up betraying Basies trust, and he stole from Diane. Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. Their only child, Diane, was born February 6, 1944. How did the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington differ? Mr. Alexander agreed to lend the club $2,500 to install an air-conditioner if it would book He played piano with them, with one interruption, for the In 1935, Bennie Moten died and it was left to Basie to take some of the musicians from that . Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. Some argue Basie made some of his best work during the 1960s and 70sShiny Stocking, Lil Darlin, Corner Pocket,and even a hit single,Everyday I Have the Blues, with Joe Williams. When the band left for Chicago it had only 12 written arrangements in its book. Early after his arrival, he bumped into Sonny Greer, who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington's early band. When Basie took his orchestra to New York in 1937, they made the Woodside Hotel in Harlem their base (they often rehearsed in its basement). He was a big force in music. next five years. Though stories abound at the genesis of his nickname, Basie later recalled it as a tribute to his penchant for slipping off during arranging sessions with Moten. We are currently enrolling students for on-campus classes and scheduling in-person campus tours. On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. Ellington's (18991974), the most famous African American [29] Right from the start, Basie's band was known for its rhythm section. There were often no musical notations made. When we played pop tunes--and, naturally, we had to--I wanted those pops to kick! During a broadcast the announcer wanted to give Basies name some style, so he called him Count. Little did Basie know this touch of royalty would give him proper status and position him with the likes of Duke Ellington and Earl Hines. But I wanted that bite to be just as tasty and subtle as if it were the three brass I used to use. He reformed his group as a 16-piece orchestra in 1952. The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. [63] DownBeat magazine reported: "(Basie) has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this. [50] In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first West Coast dates. 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. 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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. written by Basie himself in 1937. But Moten was an expert piano player himself, and Basie fashioned a job for himself as the bands staff arranger. Diane died peacefully on October 15 after suffering a heart attack a few days before. Throughout his tours, Basie met many jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Despite being born with cerebral palsy, Diane surpassed expectations due to the excellent love and support she received from her parents, family, friends, and caretakers and her indomitable spirit. It was on one of these broadcasts that Bill Basie became Count Basie. the Basie band struggled for a year after it left Kansas City. Count Basie and his Orchestra played at the tenth Cavalcade of Jazz concert also at Wrigley Field on June 20, 1954. vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singer Gonzelle White as well as Crippen. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". mid-1960s, when jazz lost much of its audience to other forms of music. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. since many of Mr. Basie's musicians were blowing patched-up horns and saxophones held together by rubber bands). Received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1974. He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1928, and a year later, he started to play with Bennie Moten's band in Kansas City. His wife, Catherine, had died in 1983. 1928. Kliment, Bud. band's achievements was its fifty-year survival in a culture that Late one night with time to fill, the band started improvising. Billie Holiday - Wikipedia Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and Quincy Jones were among the stars to pay tribute. American Ballet Theatre - Count Basie Despite the presence of Lester Young and Herschel Evans in the saxophone section, Buck Clayton in the trumpet section, Jo Jones on drums, with Jimmy Rushing and, briefly, Billie Holiday as vocalists, He is credited for creating the use of the two split tenor saxophone, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and beautifully layering masterful vocalists. The band flopped at a Pittsburgh hotel that had never booked a jazz band before. By the mid-1950s, Basie's band had become one of the preeminent backing big bands for some of the most prominent jazz vocalists of the time. Through steady changes in personnel, Basie led the band into the 1980s. [42] The band's first appearance at the Apollo Theater followed, with the vocalists Holiday and Jimmy Rushing getting the most attention. Charlie Parker forever changed the performance and writing of jazz music. While he recuperated his band continued to fulfill engagements, frequently with Nat Pierce taking Mr. Basie's place at the piano and sometimes with guest conductors such as the trumpeter Clark Terry, who The family had a piano, and Basies mother paid 25 a lesson for his piano lessons at an early age. African American bandleader and musician. We set the thing up front in D-flat, and then we just went on playing in F." It became his signature tune. Many of the band's arrangements were At thirty-four, he was dead from years of drug and alcohol use. Jazz icon, Count Basie, was born William James Basie August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. The What Happened To Count Basie's Daughter? - FAQS Clear Perhaps the most startling of the Advertisement Further Reading on Count Basie [65], In 1958, the band made its first European tour. 132 West 138th Street. The Basie band was looser and had a more relaxed swing feeling. How old was Catherine Basie when she died? 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. Basie, Count. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 FAQS Clear - All Rights Reserved factor in popularizing it was a series of repetitions of the final few bars when, as the orchestra seemingly came to the end of the piece, Mr. Basie held up a finger and called out, "One mo' But the obvious talents of another young Red Bank drummer, Sonny Greer, Basie favored blues, and he would showcase some of the most notable blues singers of the era after he went to New York: Billie Holiday, Jimmy Rushing, Big Joe Turner, Helen Humes, and Joe Williams. Okla., a band that included--in addition to Mr. the personnel, and formed the first Count Basie Orchestra. How Did Count Basie Die? - FAQS Clear They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. [89] The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. She took in laundry and baked cakes for sale for a living. As a young boy, Basie hated to see his parents working so hard, and vowed to help them get ahead. The swing era band Encyclopedia of Jazz. His name was Louis Armstrong. of the band. Services will be private. Count and Catherine were. "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.