COUNT BASIE Biography - Musicians

 
 

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COUNT BASIE

Name: Count Basie                                                                 
Birth name: William James Basie                                                   
Born: 21 August 1904 Red Bank, New Jersey                                         
Died: 26 April 1984 Hollywood, Florida                                             
Genre(s): Swing, Big band, Piano blues                                             
Occupation(s): Musician, Bandleader, Composer                                     
Instrument(s): Piano, Organ                                                       
Years active: 1924-1984                                                           
                                                                                   
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) was an American jazz     
pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Commonly regarded as one of the       
most important jazz bandleaders of his time, Basie led his popular Count Basie     
Orchestra for almost fifty years. Many notable musicians came to prominence       
under his direction, including tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel       
Evans, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy         
Rushing and Joe Williams. Basie's theme songs were "One O'Clock Jump" and "April   
In Paris." "Every Day I Have The Blues" (1955), sung by the deep-voiced Williams, 
was also a hit. Basie was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.