Jazz band biography
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Count Basie
(1904-1984)
Who Was Count Basie?
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 O'Clock Jump" and "Blue Skies." In 1958, Basie became the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award.
Jazz band biography
One of jazz music's all-time greats, he won many other Grammys throughout his career and worked with a plethora of artists, including Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald.
Early Life
Basie was born William James Basie (with some sources listing his middle name as "Allen") on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey.
His father Harvey was a mellophonist and his mother Lillian was a pianist who gave her son his first lessons. After moving to New York, he was further influenced by James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, with Waller teaching Basie organ-playing techniques.
Barons of Rhythm
Basie played the vaudevillian circuit for a time until he got stuck i