File:Count_Basie_(1955_Kriegsmann_portrait_-_square_crop).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Count Basie
Sign in to saveAlso known as William James "Count" Basie, William James Basie, William Basie
American jazz musician and composer (1904–1984)
OverviewAI-generated
William James Basie, professionally known as Count Basie, was an American pianist, bandleader, conductor, and composer. Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1904, he began his work period in 1924. His musical output spanned jazz, swing, and piano blues, with notable works including *Count Basie jam*, *Good Morning Blues*, and *Super chief*. He recorded for Mercury Records, RCA Records, and Decca.
Basie received several honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the Grammy Trustees Award, and a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance. He died of pancreatic cancer in Hollywood in 1984.
Synthesized by Vinony from 43 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1904
- Died
- 1984
- Works
- 15
Top works
- Count Basie jam
- Good Morning Blues
- Super chief
- Good Morning Blues
- Best of Count Basie
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
William James "Count" Basie (/ˈbeɪsi/; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm…
Known for
- Rat Pack — Self (archive footage)2022
- Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues — Self (voice) (archive sound)2022
- Charlie Parker: Bird Songs — Self (archive footage)2022
- Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes2020
- Billie — self2020
- Sid & Judy — Self (archive footage)2019
- Jazz Legends in Their Own Words — Self (archive footage)2014
- All-Star Jazz Show: Live from The Ed Sullivan Theater — Self2011
- Music Inn — Himself (archive footage)2007
- Jazz Icons: Count Basie Live in '62 — Himself2006
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1904
- Active to
- 1984
Discography
- How Long Blues / Boogie Woogie1938
- Dupree Blues / Red Wagon1939
- Hey Lawdy Mama / The Fives1939
- Oh! Red / Fare Thee Honey Fare Thee Well1939
- The Dirty Dozens / When the Sun Goes Down1939
- Count Basie Dance Parade1949
- Piano Rhythms1952
- Basie1954
- Count Basie Swings & Joe Williams Sings1954
- Dance Session Album #31954
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 714,049
- Total plays
- 7,233,260
Tags
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904– April 26, 1984) was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, and bandleader. As a pianist, he had a distinctive and influential style (the song title "Splanky" is an onomatopoetic reference to the sound of his playing), equally at home in the barrelhouse and the concert hall. Willie "The Lion" Smith, James P. Johnson, and Fats Waller were among his influences. As a bandleader, he created an organization (built <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Count+Basie">R
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- James
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Red Bank
- Place of death
- Hollywood
- Occupation
- orchestra leader
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Instrument
- piano
- Record label
- Decca
- Image
- Count Basie (1955 Kriegsmann portrait - square crop).jpg
- Residence
- Red Bank
Show 16 more facts
- Commons category
- Count Basie
- cause of death
- pancreatic cancer
- date of death
- 1984-04-26
- manner of death
- natural causes
- Commons gallery
- Count Basie
- birth name
- William James Basie
- name in native language
- Count Basie
- pseudonym
- Count Basie
- start of work period
- 1924-00-00
- time period
- 20th century
- member of
- Count Basie Orchestra
- date of birth
- 1904-08-21
- writing language
- English language
- social media followers
- 32900
- end of work period
- 1984-00-00
- ethnic group
- African Americans
Sources (15)
via Wikidata · CC0
~32 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William James "Count" Basie (/ˈbeɪsi/; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, his minimalist piano style, and others.
Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Dennis Rowland, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Count Basie” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.