Basie, Count

Next to Duke Ellington, there is no more famous band in the history of jazz than that of William "Count" Basie. Although his economical piano playing was ahead of his time compared to several of his more stride-oriented contemporaries, Basie was always best known as the face of an organization that played a continuous role in shaping the trajectory of jazz for over 50 years.

Born on August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey, even as a youth Basie was attracted to not just music in general, but the idea of being a bandleader specifically. Settling on the piano as his main instrument as a teen, Basie's musical apprenticeship was fairly typical for the time. Most of his education stemmed from hanging around the Harlem stride piano scene of the 1920s. A series of tours with vaudeville troupes came next; when one of the troupes broke up in Kansas City in 1927, Basie found himself stranded.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it was not long before Basie found himself hired by bassist Walter Page to play with his now-legendary territory band, the Blue Devils. His notoriety rising, Basie eventually left the Blue Devils to take over the piano chair in the Bennie Moten Orchestra, considered to be the finest band in the Kansas City area. After Moten's sudden death in 1935, rather than letting the band fall apart, Basie ended up taking over the reigns himself, bringing in several of his former Blue Devils band mates, including Page himself, in the process.

It did not take long for this new band to make its impact on the world of jazz. The Basie organization specialized in arrangements that were fairly loosely organized and easy to customize on the spot, known informally as "head" arrangements. This allowed for a much more soloist-friendly environment than most of the other bands of the swing era. In addition, the band's rhythm section was responsible for a distinctive shift in the way time is kept in jazz. Spurred by drummer "Papa" Jo Jones' more free-form approach and guitarist Freddie Green's steady "rhythm" style of playing, the innovations of this organization would play a key role in setting up the eventual rise of bebop in the 1940s.

World War II was not kind to big bands for a variety of reasons, and Basie's band was no exception. Financial considerations would force him to reduce his ensemble to an octet by the end of the 1940s. By the mid-1950s, however, Basie was able to reform his big band, aided in no small part to a series of hit recordings, including a particularly popular version of the jazz standard "April In Paris." This new Basie band maintained the same relentless sense of swing as the earlier units, but was much more organized as a whole. Gone were the "head" arrangements of old in favor of a consistently expanding library of charts provided by what may have been the greatest stable of arrangers ever housed by a single band.

Basie's celebrity firmly cemented by this point, his band remained true to this new format for the rest of his life. The 1960s and 1970s would see a string of successful albums backing singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Tony Bennett, among others. In addition, the band began to see an increased presence in Las Vegas and Hollywood; Basie's famous cameo in Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles" is no doubt a highlight of the now-classic comedy. Basie continued a busy touring and recording schedule even when he was wheelchair-bound in his final years.

Basie passed away on April 26, 1984. The band that bears his name continues to tour to this day, performing both the favorites of the past as well as new arrangements and continuing to collaborate with some of jazz's top vocalists, including George Benson and Diane Schuur. The list of notable artists brought to prominence through the ranks of his band include saxophonists Lester Young, Frank Foster and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison, Buck Clayton, and Thad Jones, trombonists Dicky Wells and Al Grey, and drummer Sonny Payne. Notable arrangers who contributed to the band's book include Foster, Jones, Neal Hefti, Quincy Jones and Sammy Nestico.

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ATOMIC BASIE COMPLETE ELEVEN ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Neal Hefti; Edited by Rob DuBoff, Myles Collins, Jeffrey Sultanof, and Dylan Canterbury

Eleven Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications and Lush Life Music

AB-1000

$620.00

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BASIE STRAIGHT AHEAD: EIGHT ARRANGEMENT SET

As Recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra

Composed and Arranged by Sammy Nestico

Eight Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Kendor Music

CB-1001

$425.00

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CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: SIX ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded and Performed by the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Frank Foster, Thad Jones, and Ernie Wilkins

Six Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications and Sierra Music

CB-1002

$340.00

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COUNT BASIE CLASSICS TWELVE ARRANGEMENT SET

Count Basie

Twelve Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications, Alfred Publishing, Lush Life Music, and Studio Music

CB-1000

$670.00

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COUNT BASIE JAZZ LINES PUBLICATIONS SERIES: 2024 REVISED TEN CLASSIC ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Neal Hefti, Frank Foster, Thad Jones, and Ernie Wilkins

Ten Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-1047

$575.00

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ELLA AND BASIE! AS ARRANGED BY QUINCY JONES: JAZZ LINES PUBLICATIONS SIX ARRANGEMENT SET

As Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald with the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Quincy Jones

Six Jazz Big Band Arrangements with Vocal

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-1064

$350.00

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FRANK FOSTER/COUNT BASIE EIGHT ARRANGEMENT SET

As Performed by Count Basie

Arranged by Frank Foster

Eight Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications and and Lush Life Music

FF-1000

$510.00

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KANSAS CITY SUITE: COMPLETE TEN ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Benny Carter

Ten Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Sierra Music

SMP-275

$490.00

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LEGEND, THE: COMPETE EIGHT ARRANGEMENT SET

Recorded by Count Basie

Composed and Arranged by Benny Carter

Eight Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications and Sierra Music

BC-1000

$390.00

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SAMMY NESTICO/COUNT BASIE EIGHT ARRANGEMENT SET

As Performed by Count Basie

Arranged by Sammy Nestico

Eight Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Hal Leonard and Kendor Music

SN-1000

$425.00

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THAD JONES JAZZ LINES PUBLICATIONS SERIES: TEN ARRANGEMENT SET

Written for Count Basie, Harry James, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra

Arranged by Thad Jones, Prepared for Publication by Rob DuBoff and Jeffrey Sultanof

Ten Jazz Big Band Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-1002

$600.00

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88 BASIE STREET

Performed by Count Basie

Arranged by Sammy Nestico

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Hal Leonard

HL-7010302

$65.00

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920 SPECIAL

Recorded by Count Basie

Transcribed by Myles Collins

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Lush Life Music

LL-1031

$65.00

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ACES AND FACES

Recorded by Count Basie

Transcribed by Myles Collins

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Lush Life Music

LL-1053

$65.00

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AFTER SUPPER

Recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Neal Hefti, Prepared for Publication by Rob DuBoff, Jeffrey Sultanof, and Dylan Canterbury

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-8483

$50.00

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AFTER SUPPER [DOWNLOAD]

Recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Neal Hefti, Prepared for Publication by Rob DuBoff, Jeffrey Sultanof, and Dylan Canterbury

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-8483DL

$50.00

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AIN'T THAT RIGHT

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Neal Hefti, Transcribed by Jon Harpin

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Lush Life Music

LL-1388

$65.00

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ALL OF ME

Recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra

Arranged by Billy Byers

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Hal Leonard

HL-33301010

$65.00

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ALL OF ME

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Billy Byers, Transcribed by Myles Collins

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Lush Life Music

LL-1172

$65.00

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ALRIGHT, OKAY, YOU WIN

Recorded by Joe Williams with Count Basie

Transcribed by Myles Collins

Jazz Big Band Arrangement with Vocal

Lush Life Music

LL-2104

$65.00

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AMOROSO

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Benny Carter, Prepared by Dylan Canterbury, Rob DuBoff, and Jeffrey Sultanof

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-7346

$65.00

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AMOROSO [DOWNLOAD]

Recorded by Count Basie

Arranged by Benny Carter, Prepared by Dylan Canterbury, Rob DuBoff, and Jeffrey Sultanof

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-7346DL

$65.00

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ANOTHER LAZY DAY

Recorded by Count Basie; Kendor Archive Editions

Arranged by Sammy Nestico

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Kendor Music

KN-52030

$95.00

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APRIL IN PARIS

Recorded by Count Basie

Transcribed by Jeff Hest

Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Alfred Publishing

AL-JE9902

$60.00

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