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The Count Basie Story
''Count Basie Story'' is a double album by pianist, composer and bandleader Count Basie featuring tracks originally performed by his orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s rerecorded in 1960 as a celebration of its 25th anniversary and first released on the Roulette Records, Roulette label. Selections from the 2-LP set were also released as Roulette's ''The Best of Basie'' in 1962 and ''The Best of Basie Vol. 2'' in 1964. The album was rereleased with bonus tracks in 2004 to commemorate Basie's 100th birthday.Bowers, J.All About Jazz Review September 25, 2004 Reception AllMusic awarded the album 3½ stars and its review by Scott Yanow states, "These sides were hotly contested when originally issued because of the contrast in accents between the 1937 band and the later one. The sound is so different that it cannot be compared to the pure and bluesy dance band swing of the originals; it is amped up and brassy, with charts (written by Royal or Neal Hefti) that stress tempo and sophisticate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; 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, 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, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams. Biography Early life and education William Basie was born to Lillian and Harvey Lee Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles replaced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topsy (instrumental)
"Topsy" was a 1938 instrumental release for bandleader Benny Goodman, written by Edgar Battle and Eddie Durham, which became a #14 pop hit. The tune had previously been recorded by Count Basie and His Orchestra on August 9, 1937. In 1958, drummer Cozy Cole recorded the song and issued it in two parts as a single. The A-side ("Topsy I") made it to #27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, while the B-side ("Topsy II") reached #3 on the Hot 100 chart and #1 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythm & Blues chart, staying atop the latter for six weeks. The two songs were simultaneous hits; they were closest together on the Hot 100 chart for the week ending November 2, 1958, when Topsy I was at #27 and Topsy II was at #4. Notable versions *Count Basie Orchestra *Charlie Christian (credited as "Swing to Bop") *Jimmy Giuffre, on his album ''Western Suite'' *The Chico Hamilton Quintet, on their album ''Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi ''Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi'' is an album by drummer and ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue And Sentimental
Blue and Sentimental is a song written by Count Basie, Jerry Livingston, and Mack David. It was written in 1938 and recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra on 6 June that year. Other recordings *1947 - Count Basie recorded the song again on October 19, 1947 for RCA Victor Records (catalog No. 2602) with a vocal by Bob Bailey and it charted briefly in 1948. *1947 - The King Cole Trio recorded November 24, 1947. *1952 - The Mills Brothers (1952). *1958 - Michel Legrand recorded June 27, 1958, for his album Legrand Jazz, featuring Ben Webster on tenor saxophone. *1962 - the song was featured on saxophonist Ike Quebec's album Blue & SentimentalBlue Note Records discography accessed October 29, 2010 *2001 - |
Jimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by Five" and was the subject of an eponymous 1942 popular song that was a hit for Harry James and others; the lyrics describe Rushing's rotund build: "he's five feet tall and he's five feet wide". He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927 and then joined Bennie Moten's band in 1929. He stayed with the successor Count Basie band when Moten died in 1935. Rushing said that his first time singing in front of an audience was in 1924. He was playing piano at a club when the featured singer, Carlyn Williams, invited him to do a vocal. "I got out there and broke it up. I was a singer from then on," he said. Rushing was a powerful singer who had a range from baritone to tenor. He has sometimes been classified as a blues shouter. He could project ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bennie Moten
Benjamin Moten (November 13, 1893 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. He led his Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchestras active in the Midwest in the 1920s, and helped to develop the riffing style that would come to define many of the 1930s big bands. The jazz standard "Moten Swing" bears his name. Career Moten started making music from an early age and developed as a pianist, pulling together other musicians in a band. His first recordings were made (for OKeh Records) on September 23, 1923, and were rather typical interpretations of the New Orleans style of King Oliver and others. They also showed the influence of the ragtime that was still popular in the area, as well as the stomping beat for which his band was famous. These OKeh sides (recorded 1923–1925) are some of the more valuable acoustic jazz 78s of the era; they are treasured records in many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moten Swing (born 1965), American singer
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Moten is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Bennie Moten (1894–1935), American jazz pianist and band leader born in Kansas City, Missouri *Benny Moten (1916–1977), American jazz bassist *Eddie Moten (born 1981), American football cornerback for the Dallas Vigilantes of Arena Football 1 *Eric Moten (born 1968), former offensive guard in the NFL *Etta Moten Barnett (1901–2004), American actress and contralto vocalist *Fred Moten (born 1962), American poet and scholar * Lawrence Moten (born 1972), retired American professional basketball player *Mariyah Moten a Pakistani Model * Patrick Moten (born 1957), musician and songwriter *Wendy Moten Wendy Moten (born November 22, 1964) is an American jazz singer from Tennessee. Born in Memphis and based in Nashville, Moten has had a successful career in music, including several major-label solo records, some international hit songs, and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shad Collins
Lester Rallingston "Shad" Collins (June 27, 1910 – June 6, 1978) was an American jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger, who played in several leading bands between the 1930s and 1950s, including those led by Chick Webb, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Lester Young, Cab Calloway and Sam "The Man" Taylor. Life and career Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States, the son of a clergyman, he acquired the nickname of "Shad" in his teens, and by the late 1920s had joined Charlie Dixon's band. He also performed with pianist Eddie White, before joining Chick Webb's band in 1931. In the mid-1930s he played in Teddy Hill's band, with whom he toured in Britain and Europe, before joining the Count Basie Orchestra. Biography by Eugene Chadbourne |
Harry Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backing singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. Biography Edison was born in Columbus, Ohio, United States. He spent his early childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, being introduced to music by an uncle. After moving back to Columbus at the age of twelve, the young Edison began playing the trumpet with local bands. In 1933, he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in Cleveland. Afterwards, he played with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and Lucky Millinder. In 1937, he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra. His colleagues included Buck Clayton, Lester Young (who named him "Sweets"), Buddy Tate, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, and other original members of that famous band. Speaking in 1956 with ''Down Beat's'' Don Freeman, Edison expla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buck Clayton
Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" as he passed by a shop window. Early years Clayton learned to play the piano from the age of six. His father was an amateur musician associated with the family's local church, who was responsible for teaching his son the scales on a trumpet, which he did not take up until his teens. From the age of 17, Clayton was taught the trumpet by Bob Russell, a member of George E. Lee's band. In his early twenties he was based in California, and was briefly a member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra and worked with other leaders. Clayton was also taught at this time by trumpeter Mutt Carey, who later emerged as a prominent west-coast revivalist in the 1940s. He also met Louis Armstrong while Armstrong was performing at Sebastian's Cotton Club, who taugh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herschel Evans
Herschel "Tex" Evans (9 March 1909 – 9 February 1939) was an American tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. He also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton. He is also known for starting his cousin Joe McQueen's interest in the saxophone. Joe McQueen, living until 2019 at age 100, may well have been the last surviving person to have known Herschel during his lifetime. Life and career Evans was born in Denton, Texas, but spent some of his childhood in Kansas City, Kansas, where his cousin Eddie Durham was a trombonist and guitarist. Durham persuaded him to switch from alto to tenor saxophone, the instrument that ultimately established Evans's reputation. After perfecting his craft in the jam sessions held in the jazz district between Twelfth and Eighteenth streets in Kansas City, Evans returned to Texas in the 1920s and joined the Troy Floyd orchestra in San Antonio in 1929. He stayed with this territory band until it dispersed in 1932. Evans perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Gibson
Albert "Andy" Gibson (November 6, 1913 – February 11, 1961) was an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. Career Gibson played violin early on before settling on trumpet. Although he played professionally in many orchestras, he did not solo and worked more often as an arranger. His associations include Lew Redman (1931), Zack Whyte (1932–33), McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1934–35), Blanche Calloway, Willie Bryant, and Lucky Millinder. He quit playing in 1937 to arrange and compose full-time, working with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Charlie Barnet, and Harry James. He led a big band while serving in the United States Army from 1942-45. After his discharge, he continued working with Barnet but focused primarily on R&B music. He was musical director for King Records from 1955–60 and recorded four songs as a leader in 1959 which were released by RCA Camden. He composed "I Left My Baby" (popularized by Count Basie), "The Great Lie", and "The Huckleb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Russell (songwriter)
Bob Russell (April 25, 1914 – February 18, 1970) was an American songwriter (mainly lyricist) born Sidney Keith Rosenthal in Passaic, New Jersey. Career Russell attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked as an advertising copywriter in New York; for a time, his roommate there was Sidney Sheldon, later a novelist. He turned to writing material for vaudeville acts, and then for film studios, ultimately writing complete scores for two movies: ''Jack and the Beanstalk (1952 film), Jack and the Beanstalk'' and ''Reach for Glory''. The latter film received the Locarno International Film Festival prize in 1962. A number of other movies featured compositions by Russell, including ''Affair in Trinidad'' (1952), ''The Blue Gardenia, Blue Gardenia'' (1953), ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956), ''The Girl Most Likely'' (1957), ''A Matter of WHO'' (1961), ''Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' (1952), ''Sound Off (film), Sound Off'' (1952), ''That Midnight Kiss'' (1949 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
