Basie, Count (William) 1904-84
US jazz pianist, organist and bandleader

Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, he became one of the most significant big-band leaders of the swing era and beyond. He started by playing drums in a children's band, and then became a piano accompanist for silent films. He drifted away from his studies to take casual jobs as a musician and was given some coaching by Fats Waller in New York. After several years touring the vaudeville circuit as a soloist and accompanist to blues singers, in 1927 he reached Kansas City, then emerging as the centre of a distinct style of orchestral jazz to which Basie was to remain true during his half-century as a bandleader. In 1929 he began a five-year involvement as pianist and co-arranger with the Bennie Moten band. When Moten died in 1935 the band was largely re-formed under Basie's leadership, at first being called the Barons of Rhythm, and including the important tenor saxophone stylist Lester Young as a featured soloist. A radio broadcast was heard by record producer John Hammond, who organized a major tour for the band, which led to recording and booking contracts. Now called the Count Basie Orchestra and established in New York, the band quickly achieved national fame and worked to heavy touring schedules - as well as making film and television appearances - until 1950 when big bands appeared to be no longer viable. However after two years of leading an octet, Basie re-formed a 16-piece orchestra and continued to lead it until his death. During his 50-year career he employed some of the most eminent swing musicians. Among his most popular pieces are his compositions 'One O'Clock Jump' and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside'.

Bibliography: Stanley Dance, The World of Count Basie (1980)