Count Basie

William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, 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 and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 21st, 1904 (Red Bank), Died April 26, 1984 (Hollywood)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1968

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, leader, composer, songwriter, arranger, organ, vocalist

Notes: Also known as William Basie.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 177 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-62927 10-in. 10/31/1930 Somebody stole my gal Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten ; Jimmy Rushing Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BVE-62928 10-in. 10/31/1930 Now that I need you Count Basie ; Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BVE-62929 10-in. 10/31/1930 Bouncin' round Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BVE-62930 10-in. 10/31/1930 Break a day schuffle Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BRC-68900 10-in. 4/15/1931 I wanna be around my baby all the time Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten ; Jimmy Rushing Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74846 10-in. 12/13/1932 Toby Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74847 10-in. 12/13/1932 Moten's swing Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74848 10-in. 12/13/1932 Blue room Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74849 10-in. 12/13/1932 Imagination Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74850 10-in. 12/13/1932 New Orleans Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten ; Jimmy Rushing Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74851 10-in. 12/13/1932 The only girl I ever loved Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74852 10-in. 12/13/1932 Milenberg joys Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74853 10-in. 12/13/1932 Lafayette Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-74854 10-in. 12/13/1932 Prince of Wales Count Basie ; Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-74855 10-in. 12/13/1932 Two times Josephine Garrison ; Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-019832 10-in. 2/16/1938 One o'clock jump Benny Goodman Orchestra Jazz/dance band arranger, composer  
Victor BS-031876 10-in. 2/1/1939 Sent for you yesterday and here you come today Benny Goodman Orchestra ; Johnny Mercer Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-031881 10-in. 2/2/1939 Parade of bands Richard Himber Rhythmic Pyramids Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-046833 10-in. 2/5/1940 One o'clock jump Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers Jazz/dance quintet composer  
Victor BS-049091 10-in. 4/10/1940 Riff interlude Ozzie Nelson Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-060331 10-in. 1/16/1941 Bugle call rag Metronome All Star Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-060332 10-in. 1/16/1941 One o'clock jump Metronome All Star Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-066797 10-in. 10/17/1941 Tune Town shuffle Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor D7VB-0402 10-in. 1/3/1947 Bill's mill Count Basie ; Count Basie Orchestra Jazz/dance band leader, instrumentalist, piano, songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0403 10-in. 1/3/1947 Me and the blues Count Basie ; Count Basie Orchestra Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band leader, instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 26-50 of 177 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Basie, Count," accessed May 30, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103042.

Basie, Count. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103042.

"Basie, Count." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 30 May 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103042

External Sources

Wikipedia: Count Basie

Discogs: Count Basie

Allmusic: Count Basie

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Basie, Count, 1904-1984 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81016968

Wikidata: Count Basie - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q107008

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/46945530

MusicBrainz: Count Basie - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0dbd6300-efdc-420b-857e-895e18fad317

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.