Count Basie Importance

Count Basie and his Orchestra

In the 1930’s a new era was taking place in jazz. The swing era, otherwise known as the big band era. One of the biggest and most influential leaders of this era was William Basie, otherwise known as The Count, or Count Basie. Basie was among many of the leaders in this era, known for his leadership skills as a band leader and a cunning pianist. Basie was known for having one of the best combo section, or rhythm section around. His rhythm section featured among the best such as Jo Jones, Walter Page, Freddie Green, and Buddy Rich, while Basie accompanied on piano. Basie and his orchestra still perform today even after Basie’s passing, reliving the glory days when such vocalists and crooners performed with him, such as Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Basie’s orchestra survived many troubling times throughout the 40’s 50’s and 60’s up and currently until today. Whether it being in its roots when it was known as The Barons of Rhythm or the New York days when famous singers such as Billie Holiday performed with the group. The orchestra has always survived even through war, such as World War II going on, or the war of band members leaving. The Count Basie Orchestra still has and always will survive. Even greater than that, they will always be known as one of the greatest and influential orchestras of the swing, or big band era.

Count Basie, or William Basie, was born on August 21, 1904 in Red Banks, New Jersey. William grew up with an influential musical background. At a young age Basie learned how to play piano, as his mother would sit down and teach him. While Basie had a natural born talent for the piano, his first preference was the drums. After being discouraged however as not making it as the...

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...ueen Ella Fitzgerald. This was one of the biggest moments for Basie, even getting an article written about it by Metronome Magazine. Metronome would go on to say, “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. Undismayed by Chick's forceful drum beating, which sent the audience into shouts of encouragement and appreciation and casual beads of perspiration to drop from Chick's brow onto the brass cymbals, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary”.

This was one of the biggest marking in Basie’s history. After this he would produce their theme, One O’clock Jump.