Count Basie

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Jazz, Bennie Moten’s Victor Recording Orchestra, Bennie Moten-Count Basie Band of Rhythm, “One O’Clock Jump”

 

Count Basie

 

Multi-talented musician William Basie was born in New Jersey in 1904, learning piano from his mother and then learning style from contemporary musicians in 1920s Harlem.  Basie began touring on the vaudeville circuit as a pianist before being invited to join Bennie Moten’s big band in Kansas City.  A skilled instrumentalist as well as arranger, “Count” Basie became a bandleader himself.  He built on a long career with his finger to the pulse of cool, infusing swing in the jukebox era and featuring future star vocalist and musicians in his act.  Count Basie left Kansas City a mere seven years after arriving, but not before popularizing the “One O’Clock Jump,” a number that became his band’s signature finale.