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*[[Dennis Rowland]] Vocals
*[[Dennis Rowland]] Vocals
*[[Rich Thompson]] Drums
*[[Rich Thompson]] Drums
*Jack Washington Baritonist


== Awards ==
== Awards ==

Revision as of 22:19, 17 March 2008

Count Basie Orchestra

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. The band survived the late-forties decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald in the fifties and sixties. The group continued to perform and record as a 'ghost band' after Count Basie's death, and are currently under the leadership of Bill Hughes.

History

Early years

Count Basie's earliest band was formed in Kansas City, Michigan in 1936 following the death of band leader Bennie Moten, in whose group Basie had been the pianist. Upon Moten's death, Basie left the group to start his own band, taking many of his colleagues from the Moten band with him. This nine-piece group consisted of Joe Keyes and Oran 'Hot Lips' Page on trumpet, Buster Smith and Jack Washington on alto saxophone, Lester Young on tenor saxophone, Dan Minor on trombone, and a rhythm section made up of Jo Jones on drums, Walter Page on bass and Basie himself on piano. With this band, then named 'The Barons of Rhythm', Basie brought the sound of the infamous and highly competitive Kansas City 'jam session' to club audiences, coupling extended improvised solos with riff-based accompaniments from the band. The group's first venue was the Reno club in Kansas City, later moving to the Grand Terrace in Chicago.

When music critic and record producer John Hammond heard the band on a 1936 radio broadcast, he sought them out and offered Basie the chance to expand the group to the standard 13-piece big band line up. He also presented the opportunity to move the group to New York in order to play at venues such as the Roseland Ballroom. Basie agreed, hoping that with this new band he could retain the freedom and spirit inherent in the Kansas City style of his nine-piece.

The band, which now included Buck Clayton on trumpet and famous blues 'shouter' Jimmy Rushing, demonstrate this style in their first recordings with the Decca label in January 1937: in pieces such as 'Roseland Shuffle' we can hear that the soloists are at the foreground with the ensemble effects and riffs playing a strictly functional backing role[1]. This was a fresh big band sound for New York, contrasting the complex jazz writing of Duke Ellington and Sy Oliver and highlighting the difference in styles that had emerged between the east and west coasts[2].

In New York

File:Billie Holiday 1943-02.jpg
Billie Holiday singing in 1943. She joined the Basie Orchestra in the 1937, but was replaced by Helen Humes in 1938

Following the first recording session the band's line up was reshuffled, with some of players being replaced on the request of Hammond as part of a 'strengthening' of the band[3]. Trumpeters Ed Lewis and Bobby Moore replaced Keyes and Smith, and alto saxophonist Coughey Roberts was replaced by Earl Warren. Significantly, March 1937 saw the arrival of guitarist Freddie Green, who replaced Claude Williams to complete one of the most respected rhythm sections in big band history[4]. Billie Holiday also sang with the band during this period, although never recorded with them.

Hits such as "One O'clock Jump" and "Jumpin' at the Woodside" (from 1937 and 1938 respectively) helped to gain the band, now known as the 'Count Basie Orchestra', national and international fame. These tunes were what was known as 'head-arrangements'; not scored in individual parts but made up of riffs memorised by the band's members. Although some of the band's players, such as trombonist Eddie Durham, did contribute their own written arrangements at this time, it was these 'head-arrangements' that captured the imagination of the audience in New York and communicated the spirit of the band's members[5].

In 1938 Helen Humes joined the group, replacing Billie Holiday as the female singer. She sang mostly pop ballads, including "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "Blame it on my Last Affair", acting as a gentle contrast to the blues style of Jimmy Rushing.

The Forties

As time went on the band became increasingly dependant on arrangers to provide its music. These varied from players within the band, such as Eddie Durham and Buck Clayton, to professional arrangers from outside the group, who could bring their own character to band with each new piece. External arranger Andy Gibson brought the band's harmonic style closer to the forward looking music of Duke Ellington, with arrangements from 1940 such as "I Never Knew" and "Louisiana" introducing increased chromaticism to the band's music. Tab Smith also contributed important arrangements at this time such as "Harvard Blues", and others including Buster Harding and veteran arranger Jimmy Mundy also expanded the group's repertoire at this time.

File:Buddy-Rich2.jpg
Buddy Rich, one of the drummers Basie hired in the absence of Jo Jones

However, this influx of new arrangements led to a gradual change in the band's sound, distancing the group musically from its West Coast roots. Rather than structuring the music around the soloists with memorised 'head arrangements' and riffs, the group's sound at this time became more focused on ensemble playing; closer to the traditional East Coast big band sound. This can be attributed to the increasing reliance on arrangers to assert their own character on to the band with their music; an indicator perhaps that Basie's ideal of a big band sized group with the flexibility and spirit of his original Kansas City 8-piece was not to last[6].

The war years saw some of the key members of the band leave: drummer Jo Jones and tenor saxophone player Lester Young were both conscripted in 1944, leading to the hiring of drummers such as Buddy Rich and extra tenor saxophonists including Illinois Jacquet, Paul Gonzalves and Lucky Thompson. Some, such as musicologist Gunther Schuller, have claimed that when Jo Jones left he took some of the smooth and relaxed style of the band with him, due to his replacements, such as Sonny Payne, drumming a lot louder and therefore raising the whole dynamic of the band to a 'harder, more clamorous brass sound'[7]. The ban on instrumental recordings of 1942 to 44 had a financial impact on the Count Basie Orchestra, as it did on all big bands in America, and despite taking on new soloists such as Wardell Gray, Basie was forced to temporarily disband the group for a short period in 1948, before dispersing again for two years in 1950. For these two years Basie led a reduced band of between 6 and 9 people, featuring players such as Buddy Rich, Serge Chaloff and Buddy DeFranco.

The 'Second Testament'

Basie reformed the jazz orchestra in 1952 for a series of tours, not only in America but also in Europe in 1954 and Japan in 1963. The band also released new recordings; some featuring guest singers such as Joe Williams, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and all reliant on music provided by arrangers, some of whom are now synonymous with the Basie band: Neal Hefti, Quincy Jones and Sammy Nestico to name a few. This new band became known as 'The Second Testament'[8], and achieved a new surge of popularity with albums such as 1958's 'The Atomic Mr. Basie'.

With this album and others of the late fifties, such as April in Paris and Basie Plays Hefti, we can hear the epitome of the new Count Basie Orchestra sound, thanks largely to the work of the aforementioned arrangers. The sound of the band was now that of a tight ensemble: heavier and full bodied, and a contrast to the riff based band of the late thirties and early forties. Whereas previously the emphasis had been on providing space for exemplary soloists such as Lester Young and Buck Clayton, now the focus had shifted to the arrangements themselves, despite the presence of notable soloists such as trumpeter Thad Jones and saxophonist Frank Foster. This orchestral style was to remain the typical sound of the band, even up to the present day; a fact that has attracted criticism from some musicologists, notably Gunther Schuller who, in his book 'The Swing Era', described the group as 'perfected neo-classicism...a most glorious dead end'[9].

The Ghost Band

After Basie's death in 1984 the band continued to play as a 'ghost band' under the direction of some of the players he had hired, including Eric Dixon, Thad Jones, Frank Foster, Grover Mitchell and now trombonist Bill Hughes. It continues to release new recordings, for example Basie is Back from 2006 which features new recordings of classic tunes from the Basie Orchestra's back catalogue, including "April in Paris" and even the band's early hit "One O'clock Jump". The group also continues to produce notable collaborations, such as with singer Ray Charles in Ray Sings Basie Swings of 2006, and with arranger Allyn Ferguson on the 1999 album Swing Shift.

Members

Awards

· Awarded the Grammy Award seventeen times, including in 1999 for the album Count Plays Duke and in 1997 for the album Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild.

· Included in the Down Beat Reader's Poll in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 (the last time as 'Best Big Band').

· Included in the Down Beat Critic's Poll 1984, 1986, 1991, 1993 and 1994.

· Included in the Jazz Times Critic's and Reader's Poll in 1994 and 1995.[10]

Discography

Album Year Label
Swinging at the Daisy Chain 1937 Decca
One O'clock Jump 1937 Decca
Sent For You Yesterday and Here You Come Today 1938 Decca
Every Tub 1938 Decca
Doggin' Around 1938 Decca
Jumpin' At the Woodside 1938 Decca
Shorty George 1938 Decca
Jive at Five 1939 Decca
Oh! Lady Be Good 1939 Decca
Rock-a-bye Basie 1939 Vocalion
Taxi War Dance 1939 Vocalion
Miss Thing 1939 Vocalion
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie 1939 Vocalion
Ham 'n' Eggs 1939 Colombia
Tickle-Toe 1940 Colombia
Gone with "What" Wind 1940 OK
The World is Mad 1940 OK
Stampede in G Minor 1940 OK
Diggin' for Dex 1941 OK
The King/Blue Skies 1945 Colombia
Dance Session 1952-4 Clef
Count Basie Swings and Joe Williams Sings 1955 Clef
April in Paris 1955-6 Verve
The Atomic Mr. Basie 1958 Roulette
Basie Plays Hefti 1958 Roulette
Chairman of the Board 1958 Roulette
The Count Basie Story 1960 Roulette
The Legend 1961 Roulette
Basie at Birdland 1961 Roulette
Líil Olí Groovemaker 1963 Verve
Ella and Basie! 1963 Verve
Basie Land 1964 Verve
Basie Picks the Winners 1965 Verve
Basie's Beat 1967 Verve
Afrique 1970 RCA Victor
Basie Jam 1973 Pablo
For the First Time 1974 Pablo
On the Road 1979 Pablo
Warm Breeze 1981 Pablo
Farmer's Market Barbecue 1982 Pablo
88 Basie Street 1983 Pablo
Long Live the Chief 1987 Denon
Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra 1989 GRP
The Legend, the Legacy 1990 Denon
The George Benson Big Boss Band featuring The Count Basie Orchestra 1991 Warner Bros.
The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco 1992 Telarc
Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra 1993 Telarc
Live at Manchester Craftsmenís Guild ñ The Count Basie Orchestra 1997 Blue Jackel
Count Plays Duke 1998 MAMA
Swing Shift 1999 MAMA
Ray Sings, Basie Swings 2006 Concord
Basie is Back 2007 MAMA
Midnight in Manhattan 2007 Aspirion

References

  1. ^ Williams, Martin Jazz: What Happened in Kansas City?, from American Music (Summer 1985) Vol. 3 No. 2. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, p.176
  2. ^ Schuller, Gunther (1989). The Swing Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.225
  3. ^ Ibid. p.237
  4. ^ Ibid. p.226
  5. ^ Jackson, Arthur The World of Big Bands: The Sweet and Swinging Years (1977) Vancouver: David & Charles, p.42
  6. ^ Schuller, Gunther (1989). The Swing Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.258
  7. ^ Ibid p.261
  8. ^ Cuscuna, Michael(1994) Sleeve notes from the CD The Complete Atomic Basie
  9. ^ Schuller, Gunther (1989). The Swing Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.262
  10. ^ From the official Count Basie Orchestra Website (accessed 21/11/07) http://www.countbasie.com/about.html

Sources

  • Schuller, Gunther (1989). The Swing Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press
  • Atkins, Ronald ed.(2000). Jazz: From New Orleans to the New Jazz Age. London: Carlton Books
  • Williams, Martin Jazz: What Happened in Kansas City?, from American Music (Summer 1985) Vol. 3 No. 2. Illinois: University of Illinois Press
  • Stowe, David W. Jazz in the West: Cultural Frontier and Region During the Swing Era, from The Western Historical Quarterly(February 1992) Vol. 23 No. 1. Utah: Utah State University
  • Jackson, Arthur (1977) The World of Big Bands: The Sweet and Swinging Years Vancouver: David & Charles
  • Cuscuna, Michael(1994)Sleeve notes from the CD The Complete Atomic Basie
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