New York City and later years
At the end of 1936, Bill Basie moved his band from Kansas City; they honed their repertoire at a long engagement at the Grand Terrace Ballroom in Chicago. In that city in October 1936, members of the band participated in a recording session which producer
John Hammond later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with" . Those four sides were released under the name Jones-Smith Incorporated because Basie had already signed with
Decca but had not started recording for them (his first Decca session was January, 1937). By the end of 1936 the Count Basie Orchestra began playing in
New York City, where they remained until 1950.
Basie’s music was characterized by his trademark "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. Basie also showcased some of the most notable
blues singers of the era:
Billie Holiday,
Jimmy Rushing,
Big Joe Turner,
Helen Humes, and
Joe Williams. More importantly, Count Basie was a highly successful bandleader who was able to hold onto some of the most notable jazz musicians of the 1930s and early 1940s:
Buck Clayton,
Reunald Jones,
Herschel Evans,
Lester Young, and the band's rhythm section, including
Walter Page,
Freddie Green, and
Jo Jones. He was also able to hire arrangers who knew how to accentuate the band's abilities, such as
Eddie Durham and
Jimmy Mundy.
The
big band era appeared to be at an end, but Basie reformed his as a 16-piece
orchestra in 1952 and led it until his death. Basie remained faithful to the
Kansas City Jazz style and helped keep big bands alive with his distinctive style of piano playing.
By the mid-1950s, Basie's band had become one of the pre-eminent backing big bands for some of the finest jazz vocalists of the time. Joe Williams was featured on the 1957 album
One O'Clock Jump, and 1956's
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings.
Tony Bennett,
Sammy Davis, Jr. and
Frank Sinatra also recorded with Basie. In 1942 Basie moved to Queens, New York with Catherine Morgan after being married for a few years. In 1957 Basie released the live album
At Newport. He appeared as himself (along with his band) in the
Jerry Lewis film
Cinderfella (1960) and in the
Mel Brooks movie
Blazing Saddles (1974).
Ella Fitzgerald is sometimes referred to as the quintessential swing singer, and her meetings with the Basie band are highly regarded by critics. Fitzgerald's 1963 album
Ella and Basie! is remembered as one of Fitzgerald's greatest recordings. With the 'New Testament' Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a youthful
Quincy Jones, this album proved a swinging respite from the 'Songbook' recordings and constant touring that Fitzgerald was engaged in during this period. She toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and a much tamer Basie band also met on the 1979 albums
Digital III at Montreux,
A Classy Pair, and
A Perfect Match, the last two also recorded live at Montreux.
Frank Sinatra had a fruitful relationship with Basie -- 1963's
Sinatra-Basie and 1964's
It Might as Well Be Swing (the latter arranged by
Quincy Jones) are two high points towards the peak of Sinatra's artistry. Jones provided the punchy arrangements for the Basie band on Sinatra's biggest selling album, the live
Sinatra at the Sands. Basie also recorded with
Tony Bennett in the early 1960s-two of their best were the live recording at Las Vegas and
Strike Up the Band, a studio album.
Basie was especially known for his use of some of the best known arrangers in the business:
Benny Carter (Kansas City Suite),
Neal Hefti (Atomic Basie), and
Sammy Nestico (Basie-Straight Ahead). Serious students of big band
jazz still consider his
Chairman of the Board album from the mid-1950s arguably his best pure big band album (
sans vocals).
Bill Basie died of
pancreatic cancer in
Hollywood, Florida on
April 26 1984 at the age of seventy-nine.
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