"One O'Clock Jump" is a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

, a 12-bar blues

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

, written by

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 the ...

in 1937.

Background

The melody derived from band members' riffs—Basie rarely wrote down musical ideas, so

Eddie Durham Edward Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie ...

and

Buster Smith Henry Franklin "Buster" Smith (August 24, 1904 – August 10, 1991), also known as Professor Smith, was an American jazz alto saxophonist and mentor to Charlie Parker.Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/artic ...

helped him crystallize his ideas. The original 1937 recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of

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 ...

and

Lester Young 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 i ...

, trumpet by

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" ...

Walter Page Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestr ...

on bass, and Basie himself on piano. The song is typical of Basie's early

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

style. The instrumentation is based on "

head arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s" where each section makes up their part based on what the other sections are playing. Individuals take turns improvising over the top of the entire sound. Basie recorded "One O'Clock Jump" several times after the original performance for Decca in 1937, for Columbia in 1942 and 1950 and on a number of occasions in the fifties. "One O'Clock Jump" became the theme song of the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. They used it to close each of their concerts for the next half century. It was reportedly titled "Blue Ball" at first but a radio announcer feared that title was too risqué.

Accolades

In 1979, the song was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. Later, it was listed in the

Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...

Other Versions

*"Two O'Clock Jump" was a performance by

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

and his big band in 1939, slightly based on "One O'Clock Jump" but using

triplets A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bir ...

. Several versions of the original by Harry James and

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

feature the "Two O'Clock Jump" ending.

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

used the song as his theme song for a while as well. Basie later released "

Jumpin' at the Woodside "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...

" in a similar style. *A popular

for virtually all top swing bands and their fans and jitterbuggers, it was part of the concert bill for Benny Goodman's famous 1938 concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. It was also the last number ever recorded by

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

, in 1981 after a 58-year recording career. *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...

released a version on his 1961 album ''

He's the King and His Band ''He's the King and His Band'' is the first album by Al Hirt to be released by RCA Records, RCA Victor. The album was recorded at RCA Victor's Studio A in New York City. The album reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart ...

''.Al Hirt, ''He's the King and His Band''
Retrieved April 6, 2013. * Rush drummer

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

included "One O'Clock Jump" in his drum solos on the band's concert tours in 2002 and 2004.

Appearance in film and television

*''

The Tuskegee Airmen ''The Tuskegee Airmen'' is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II. The film was directed by Ro ...

'' *''

The Grass Harp ''The Grass Harp'' is a novel by Truman Capote published on October 1, 1951Clarke, Gerald. ''Capote: A Biography'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988), page 224. It tells the story of an orphaned boy and two elderly ladies who observe life from a ...

'' (1995 film version) *''

Harlem Nights ''Harlem Nights'' is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1991) ...

'' *''

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

'' *''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

'' *'' Reveille with Beverly'' *''

Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!) ''Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)'' is a 1980 American animated adventure comedy film produced by United Feature Syndicate and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. It was the fourth ful ...

'' *''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

Background

Accolades

Other Versions

Appearance in film and television

Web sources

See also