9 20 special count basie biography

Swing music is a style of jazz that was dominant in the 1930s, and performed by jazz big bands primarily for dancing audiences. It reached broad audiences over the radio, on records, and in dance halls around the nation.

Swing music is characterized by a syncopated rhythm where all the beats are not evenly spaced in time. Some beats will fall slightly before, or slightly after the expected time of when a straight beat would have landed. Familiar songs with this swing rhythm are Benny Goodman’s “Sing Sing Sing” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”.

The syncopated swing rhythm made the music sound more lively, and also had the psychological effect of causing listeners to want to move with the music. The Charleston was a dance that was quite popular during the 1920s, and as jazz music took on stronger syncopations, the music began influencing how the dancers danced their dance. This caused a feedback with the live bands who would begin playing their music influenced by how the dancers in front of them were dancing. By the end of the '20s, this feedback between live bands and dancers evolved both the music and the dance into new forms: swing jazz (also called "swing music" or "big band jazz"), Lindy Hop (also called "swing dancing" or "the Jitterbug").

Some Popular Swing Musicians to know are: Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Johnny Hodges, Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Roy Eldridge. And don’t forget the ladies: Ivy Benson, Blanche Calloway (Cab Calloway’s sister) and Ella Fitzgerald who led the Chick Webb Orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom.

"9:20 Special" is a 1941 jazz standard. It was written by Earle Warren, Jack Palmer and William Engvick.

1941 single by Earle Warren, Jack Palmer, William Engvick

Recordings

• Count Basie recorded the original (3:13) on April 10, 1941 and it was released on OKeh 6244 in 1941
• Glenn Miller recorded a version (3:14) on Mai 19, 1944 and it was one peace of Broadcast program Nr. 17
• Art Tatum recorded a version (2:29) on October 26, 1945 for Armed Forces Radio and released later on Storyville Live Performances 1934-1956
• Harry James recorded a version in 1945 on Columbia Records
• Woody Herman recorded it in 1956 on "Jackpot" - the Las Vegas Herd Capitol Records
• Oscar Peterson also recorded a version of the song, which was featured on his 1956 album 'Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie'.

See also

References

American jazz musician and composer (1904–1984)

Musical artist

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, his minimalist piano style, 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, Dennis Rowland, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

As a composer, Basie is known for writing such jazz standards as "Blue and Sentimental", "Jumpin' at the Woodside" and "One O'Clock Jump".

Biography

Early life and education

William Basie was born to Lillian (Childs) and Harvey Lee Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several wealthy families in the area. Both of his parents had some type of musical background. His father played the mellophone, and his mother played the piano; in fact, she gave Basie his first piano lessons. She took in laundry and baked cakes for sale for a living. She paid 25 cents a lesson for Count Basie's piano instruction.

The best student in school, Basie dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by touring carnivals which came to town. He finished junior high school but spent much of his time at the Palace Theater in Red Bank, where doing occasional c

Jazz icon, Count Basie, was born William James Basie August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. Count Basie is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of all times. He was the arbiter of the big-band swing sound and his unique style of fusing blues and jazz established swing as a predominant music style. Basie changed the jazz landscape and shaped mid-20th century popular music, duly earning the title “King of Swing” because he made the world want to dance.

The Man

Both of Basie’s parents were hard workers. His father, Harvey Lee Basie, was a coachman and a groundskeeper, and his mother, Lillian Childs Basie, was a laundress.   As a young boy, Basie hated to see his parents working so hard, and vowed to help them get ahead. The family had a piano, and Basie’s mother paid 25¢ a lesson for his piano lessons at an early age.  He had an incredible ear, and could repeat any tune he heard. Dropping out of junior high school, Basie learned to operate lights for vaudeville and to improvise piano accompaniment for silent films at the local movie theater in his hometown that would eventually become the Count Basie Theatre. He quickly made a name for himself playing the piano at local venues and parties around town until he moved to New York City in search of greater opportunities.

His Family

After a decade long courtship, Basie married dancer Catherine Morgan, his second wife, on his birthday in 1942. They had one daughter, Diane, in 1944. Count and Mrs. Basie were true socialites – often gathering with friends including celebrities Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Basie protégé Quincy Jones. They had direct lines to presidents, occasionally exchanging personal telegrams giving well wishes. In 1949, the Basie family moved one of the premier neighborhoods open to African American families – Addsleigh Park in St. Albans, Queens, New York. Their neighbors included Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson and Milt Hinton. While Count Basie worke