George Wein, producer of the festival, announced yesterday that this year's festival would be dedicated to Mr. Basie and that the June 30 program would be enlarged as a ''Salute to Count Basie.''. Biography - A Short Wiki Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One O'Clock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. Count Basie, byname of William Basie, (born August 21, 1904, Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Florida), American jazz musician noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands. Many of Basies albums of the 70s were Grammy Award winners or nominees. At a White House reception, President Reagan said that Mr. Basie was ''among the handful of musicians that helped change the path of American music in the 30's and the 40's'' and that he had ''revolutionized jazz.''. Here is all you want to know, and more! You can always change this later in your Account settings. William James Basie is part of G.I. On a flight to New York City, he suffered from internal bleeding due to the effects of alcoholism and died in the early morning hours of March 15, 1959, only hours after arriving back in New York, at the age of 49.[26]. In 1952 he was featured on Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, released in 1954 on Norgran. The key factor in popularizing it was a series of repetitions of the final few bars when, as the orchestra seemingly came to the end of the piece, Mr. Basie held up a finger and called out, ''One mo' time! Duffy Jackson, with bassist Jim Furgeson, at Rudy's Jazz Room in Nashville. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. Sonny Payne - Wikipedia Count Basie was born on the 21st of August, 1904. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. As one critic put it, they ''put wheels on all four bars of the beat,'' creating a smooth rhythmic flow over which Mr. Basie's other instrumentalists rode as though they were on a streamlined cushion. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. This stemmed primarily from the presence in the rhythm section, from 1937 to the present, of both Mr. Basie on piano and Freddie Green on guitar. The band flopped at a Pittsburgh hotel that had never booked a jazz band before. Wayne Shorter, then of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, composed a tribute, called "Lester Left Town". Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Thanks for your help! Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Your IP: Even more important was the fact that the Famous Door had national and local radio wires. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Page, Mr. Basie and Mr. Rushing all joined Bennie Moten's orchestra, the leading big band in the Southwest, which became even stronger with their presence. Young is described as playing the clarinet in a "liquid, nervous style. From around 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking increased. Jazz critic and record producer John Hammond heard the broadcasts and promptly launched the band on its career. It is also known as being the most generous and noble of signs. I said the minute the brass got out of hand and blared and screeched instead of making every note mean something, there'd be some changes made. He also received a distinguished alumni award from Duquesne, and in 1994 was inducted into Duquesne's "Century Club". The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, and, implicitly, Mingus as well. Performance & security by Cloudflare. [18] In 1956, he recorded two LPs with his 1930s collaborators Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones. Jones performed regularly in later years at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City. ABC World News Tonight feature on death of Count Basie on - YouTube Suffering from diabetes and chronic arthritis during his later years, Basie continued to front his big band until a month before his death in 1984. This account has been disabled. The ''book'' of this early Basie band was based on blues and riffs developed on a blues structure. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. There will be a viewing at Benta's Funeral Home, 630 St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street, on Sunday from 1 to 7 P.M. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Number of deaths by cause - Our World in Data He earned the nickname, "Count," because of his stylish way of playing the piano. (Fans distinguish the two major eras in Basie bands as the Old Testament and New Testament.) The Basie orchestra of the 1950s was a slick, professional unit that was expert at sight reading and demanding arrangements. He was sometimes known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger . In 1958, Basie became the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award. "[25], Young made his final studio recordings and live performances in Paris in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the tail end of an abbreviated European tour during which he ate next to nothing and drank heavily. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. In December 1943, Young returned to the Basie fold for a 10-month stint, cut short by his being drafted into the army during World War II. [18] He was given a military burial later in 2021. Mr. Basie's wife, Catherine, died in April 1983. Count Bill Basie . He was 79 years old and lived in Freeport, the Bahamas. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. In 1981, Mr. Basie was honored along with Cary Grant, Helen Hayes and other stars as a recipient of Washington's Kennedy Center honors for achievement in the performing arts. With Count Basie Within less than six months, however, Mr. Basie was back at the keyboard. He was one of the greatest bandleaders of all-time, epitomizing the jazz of south-western America. When is Count Basies birthday? This second-generation big band differed from the early one in that it depended on arrangers for its basic style, a smooth, rolling, highly polished swing style for which Neal Hefti (''Li'l Darlin' ''), Ernie Wilkins and Frank Foster (''Shiny Stockings'') were among the most notable orchestrators. He had three sons with his first wife. Outstanding soloists such as tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson, Paul Quinichette, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis and trumpeters Clark Terry and Charlie Shavers, figured prominently. Best Known For: One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. During childhood, Sammy Americanized his name to Samuel Louis Nestico. His solo albums eventually earned him four Grammy Award nominations, besides the awards he earned with Count Basie: in 2002 for his album This Is The Moment and for the arrangement "Kiji Takes A Ride"; in 2009 for his album Fun Time; and in 2016 for his arrangement "Good 'Swing' Wenceslas". Young was the subject of an opera, Prez: A Jazz Opera, that was written by Bernard Cash and Alan Plater and broadcast by BBC television in 1985. Mr. Basie's band, more than any other, was the epitome of swing, of jazz that moved with a built-in flowing intensity. The 1950s band showcased the sound and style Basie was to employ for the remainder of his career, although there were to be occasionaland successfulexperiments such as Afrique (1970), an album of African rhythms and avant-garde compositions that still managed to remain faithful to the overall Basie sound. His alma mater later awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Music degree and the Distinguished Alumni award. These performances were generally well attended by other drummers such as Max Roach and Roy Haynes. Gradually, member by member, the Count Basie Orchestra was born, and . From that time on, I was a daily customer, hanging onto every note, sitting behind him all the time. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. His autobiography (as told to Albert Murray), entitled Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones and based on conversations between Jones and novelist Murray from 1977 to before Jones' death in 1985, was posthumously published in 2011 by the University of Minnesota Press.[2]. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. Homage to Lester Young (1993), a book of poetry by Vancouver writer Jamie Reid. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Meanwhile, keep on listening and tapping your feet. (Count Basie), Well, if you find a note tonight that sounds good, play the same damn note every night! (Count Basie), Copyright 2023 /The Celebrity Deaths.com/All Rights Reserved. He left home permanently in 1932 when he became a member of the Blue Devils led by Walter Page. His daughter, Diane Basie, now 71 and living in Florida. Generation. Lester married three times. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 - March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In 2009, Nestico said in an interview "I didn't answer, although I didn't think [Johnson's] concept of music was worth a damn. There is a problem with your email/password. Verify and try again. Directing With a Glance Mr. Basie, a short, stocky, taciturn but witty man who liked to wear a yachting cap offstage, presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. [23] On January 31, 2008, Sady Sullivan conducted an oral history interview with Dr. Lester W. Young Jr.[24] At approximately 1:10:00 he speaks about his father, listening to jazz, learning to play, and how having a famous father did not convey any favours. based on information from your browser. She gave Lester the nickname "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt, the "greatest man around" in Billie's mind. He would ask, "How does the bread smell?" [12], In the late 1960s, Sammy worked as an arranger and orchestrator for Capitol Records. They were considered a model for ensemble rhythmic conception and tonal balancethis despite the fact that most of Basies sidemen in the 1930s were poor sight readers; mostly, the band relied on head arrangements (so called because the band had collectively composed and memorized them, rather than using sheet music). From then on, it was Count Basie.''. Count Basie - Wikipedia After Young's clarinet was stolen in 1939, he abandoned the instrument until about 1957. In 1963, he switched to the Marines and became director and arranger of the United States Marine Band, where he served under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Mr. Alexander agreed to lend the club $2,500 to install an air-conditioner if it would book the Basie band. 24 part "Interview with Lester Young", conducted in the 1950s. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 19:11. He was one of the greatest bandleaders of all-time, epitomizing the jazz of south-western America. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One OClock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. One famous instance of his irritable temper was in the spring of 1936, during a jam session at the Reno Club in Kansas City. This page is updated often with latest details about Count Basie. Death rate from chronic respiratory diseases. His playing showed reliance on a small number of clichd phrases and reduced creativity and originality, despite his claims that he did not want to be a "repeater pencil" (Young coined this phrase to describe the act of repeating one's own past ideas). [6], In 1933, Young settled in Kansas City, where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie. [11] He soon left Henderson to play in the Andy Kirk band (for six months) before returning to Basie. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Count Basie, Birth Year: 1904, Birth date: August 21, 1904, Birth State: New Jersey, Birth City: Red Bank, Birth Country: United States. When William James "Count" Basie died of cancer in 1984, he left his $1.5 million fortune in a trust to provide for his only child. He conducted and recorded his arrangements with several leading European Radio Jazz Orchestras, including the BBC Big Band in London, Germany's SWR Big Band and NDR Big Band and the DR Big Band, as well as the Boston Pops Orchestra in America. 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. During his last years, he had difficulty walking and rode out on the stage on a motorized wheelchair which he sometimes drove with joyful abandon. Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday morning at Doctors' Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. [34], Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains a story called "Pork Pie Hat", a fictionalized account of the life of Lester Young. Along with Duke Ellington, Count Basie is regarded as one of the two most important and influential bandleaders in the history of jazz. Pop Tunes With a Kick, ''Of course, I wanted to play real jazz. Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with a reunion in 1944), they are named after the group, the Kansas City Seven, and comprised Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells, Basie, Young, Freddie Green, Rodney Richardson, and Jo Jones. He subsequently led a number of small groups that often included his brother, drummer Lee Young, for the next couple of years; live and broadcast recordings from this period exist. Biography - Count Basie - Rutgers University William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In his hometown of Red Bank, there is now a Count Basie Theatre and a Count Basie Field. [4][12], Nestico published nearly 600 numbers for school groups and many for professional big bands. A brother, James, died when William was a young boy. Unexpected Death of Ronald McFadden's Shocks Jazz Scene, Community *How USAFacts measures death. Charles Mingus dedicated an elegy to Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", only a few months after his death. The funeral service will be at noon on Monday at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 West 138th Street. From Bill to Count. Billie Holiday - Movie, Death & Strange Fruit - Biography [11] " Police deemed it suicide, Kuehl having supposedly jumped from her hotel room, although there was no proof of this", [3] and her family believes she may have been murdered. He thought he could never outmatch Greers talent, so he took up piano at 15. ''I had dropped into the old Lincoln Theater in Harlem,'' Mr. Basie once recalled, ''and I heard a young fellow beating it out on an organ. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick! [21][22] Both hold a PhD in Education, according to drummer Roy Haynes, who was interviewed as part of an attempt to create a film biography of Young. One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. Counts education details are not available at this time. Best Count Basie Songs: 20 Jazz Essentials | uDiscover Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. Butch Miles Cause of Death? Drummer of the Count Basie Orchestra Passed In 1935, Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. I decided that I would be one of the biggest new names; and I actually had some little fancy business cards printed up to announce it, Count Basie. Try again later. Scale for the musicians at the Reno Club, where beer was a nickel and whisky was 15 cents, was $15 a week for playing from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M., except Saturdays when it was 8 P.M. until 8 A.M. And it was a seven-day week. [1] Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military, but he remained with Basie until 1948. Played for Kennedy and Reagan. Live. Count Basie | American musician | Britannica All Rights Reserved. His mother paid 25 cents per piano lesson for him when he was young. [1] The two died only a few days apart. They had two children: Lester W. Young Jr. (born 1947) and Yvette Young (born 1957). To help it through the Grand Terrace engagement, Fletcher Henderson, who had provided Benny Goodman with the arrangements that enabled his band to break through a year earlier, lent Mr. Basie some of his arrangements. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. [12], Nestico wrote hundreds of arrangements for school band and jazz band programs. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra. Mr. Basie was born in Red Bank, N.J., on Aug. 21, 1904, an only child who was christened William. Unostentatious as Mr. Basie appeared, his presence was a vital factor in directing his band or any group of musicians with whom he might be playing. 0 cemeteries found in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA. when asking how much a gig was going to pay.[31]. The Count Basie Theatre in Redbank, New Jersey. She was also in physical decline, near the end of her career, yet they both gave moving performances. Oops, something didn't work. I mean, he'll concert you all, and then he'll swing you all, too, you understand, when he's ready to. While he never abandoned the cane reed, he used the plastic reed a significant share of the time from 1943 until the end of his life. Mausoleum, South Forsythia Court, Row 57, Tier D, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1664/count-basie. Though rooted in the riff style of the 1930s swing-era big bands, the Basie orchestra played with the forceful drive and carefree swing of a small combo. The band broadcast from the Reno Club on an experimental radio station. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Count Basie I found on Findagrave.com. [3], For the fictional television character, see, Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 08:43, The Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Pete Brown, Jo Jones All Stars at Newport, Mae Barnes, Jo Jones, Buck Clayton, Ray Bryant, The Oscar Peterson Trio with Sonny Stitt, Roy Eldridge and Jo Jones at Newport, Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones, Jazz Icons: Coleman Hawkins-Live in 62 & 64, "Book Review: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones", "Jo Jones, 73, A Jazz Drummer Influential in Swing Era, Dies", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jo_Jones&oldid=1141690806, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 08:43. Peter Jennings (who was a jazz an) introduces a short feature on the career of Count Basie who died earlier in the day of pancreatic cancer. Of course, I wanted to play real jazz. He went on to join Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1928, which he would see as a pivotal moment in his career, being introduced to the big-band sound for the first time. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. He was soon court-martialed. Count Basie - Discography of American Historical Recordings All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Other than in the last two visualizations, this piece uses a measure called the age-adjusted death rate. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Count Basie (1664)? (Sorry I could . [1] Jones, Basie, guitarist Freddie Green and bassist Walter Page were sometimes billed as an "All-American Rhythm section," an ideal team. His third wife was Mary Berkeley. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". It was a reunion with Holiday, with whom he had lost contact over the years. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Young occasionally played as a featured guest with the Count Basie Orchestra. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Count Basie: The Man and His Music, Pt. 2 : NPR - NPR.org In the early 1990s after Count Basie's death, leader Frank Foster was auditioning a young drummer for the Basie Band. After some challenges, the Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and '40s. During a radio broadcast of the band's performance, the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some pizazz, keeping in mind the existence of other bandleaders like .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Duke Ellington and Earl Hines. In addition to his artistry on the drums, Jones was known for his irascible, combative temperament. 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." Throughout the 1960s, Basies recordings were often uninspired and marred by poor choice of material, but he remained an exceptional concert performer and made fine records with singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra. There was a memorable concert at Town Hall several years ago when a number of musicians, including Mr. Basie, were scheduled to perform in a variety of combinations. In 1981 OyamO (Charles F. Gordon) published the book The Resurrection of Lady Lester, subtitled "A Poetic Mood Song Based on the Legend of Lester Young", depicting Young's life. Some of their notable songs included "One O'Clock Jump"the orchestra's signature tune which Basie composed himself and "Jumpin' at the Woodside.". By the time he was ten, he had learned the basics of the trumpet, violin, and drums, and joined the Young Family Band touring with carnivals and playing in regional cities in the Southwest[6][2], In his teens he and his father clashed, and he often left home for long periods. Then I sat beside him and he taught me.'' Count Basie - Bio, Personal Life, Family & Cause Of Death - CelebsAges Search above to list available cemeteries. Lester Young also had a direct influence on the young Charlie Parker, and thus the entire be-bop movement. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Most Common Causes of Death in The US - USAFacts Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch. (Count Basie), Of course, there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues. (Count Basie), Im saying: to be continued, until we meet again. 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