Biography

Simply put, Count Basie led the most swinging of the classic big bands. His youthful education in playing stride piano in New York was meshed with a deep immersion in the hard-swinging Kansas City jazz scene of the early 1930s. As Basie moved from sideman to bandleader, his tight-knit ensemble eventually came to rival Duke Ellington's group. The Basie orchestra's perfectly interlocking rhythm section provided a springboard for a succession of jazz giants--most notably tenor man Lester Young--to launch their solo excursions. Basie's big-band vision was so strong that his group continued for decades after his passing.

Top Tracks

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• (love Is) The Tender Trap

• 7th Avenue Express

• 9.20 Special

• A Little Tempo Please

• After You've Gone

• Ain't Misbehavin'

• Alright, Okay, You Win

• Anything Goes

• April In Paris

• Are You Havin' Any Fun

• At Long Last Love

• Avenue C

• Backstage At Stuff's

• Basie Blues

• Basie Boogie

• Basie Land

• Basie Power

• Basie-straight Ahead

• Battle Royal

• Beau Brummel

• Blow Top

• Blue And Sentimental

• Blue Skies

• Blues (i Still Think Of Her)

• Blues Backstage

• Blues For The Count And Oscar

• Blues In Hoss' Flat

• Blues In My Heart

• Blues Inside Out

• Boogie Woogie

• Boogie Woogie (i May Be Wrong)

• Boogie Woogie Blues

• Broadway

• Cabin In The Sky

• Cash Box

• Cherry Point

• Chicago

• Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie

• Come Fly With Me

• Come Rain Or Come Shine

• Corner Pocket

• Count Me In

• Count's Organ Blues

• Count's Place

• Cute

• Dickie's Dream

• Dinah

• Don't Get Around Much Anymore

• Down For The Count

• Drafting Blues

• Dupree Blues

• Every Day I Have The Blues

• Every Tub

• Everyday (i Have The Blues)

• Exactly Like You

• Extended Blues

• Fare Thee Honey, Fare Thee Well

• Fawncy Meetin' You

• Five O'clock Whistle

• Flight Of The Foo Birds

• Fly Me To The Moon

• Front Burner

• God Bless The Child

• Goin' To Chicago

• Goin' To Chicago Blues

• Gone With "what" Wind?

• Good Morning Blues

• Growing Pains

• Hey! Jealous Lover

• Hey! Lawdy Mama

• High Tide

• Hob Nail Boogie

• Honeysuckle Rose

• House Rent Boogie

• How Long, How Long Blues

• I Ain't Got Nobody

• I Got Rhythm

• I Never Knew

• I Want A Little Girl

• I Won't Dance

• If You See My Baby

• I'm Confessin' (that I Love You)

• In A Mellow Tone

• In A Sentimental Mood

• In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning

• It's Only A Paper Moon

• It's Square But It Rocks

• It's The Same Old South

• I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

• Jamboree

• Jammin' On A V-disc

• Jeepers Creepers

• Jelly, Jelly

• Jive At Five

• Jump For Me

• Jumpin' At The Woodside

• Jumping At The Woodside

• Kansas City

• Kansas City Shout

• Kansas City Stride

• Kansas City Wrinkles

• Kid From Red Bank

• King Joe, Pt. 1

• Lady Be Good

• Lester Leaps In

• Life Is A Song

• Li'l Darlin'

• Lil' Darlin'

• Little Pony

• Lullaby Of Birdland

• M Squad

• Magic

• Makin' Whoopee

• Mama Don't Want No Peas An' Rice An' Coconut Oil

• Mambo Inn

• Michelle

• Mine, Too

• Moten Swing

• Mutton Leg

• Mutton-leg

• New Basie Blues

• Nice Work If You Can Get It

• Oh, Lady Be Good

• Oh, Lady, Be Good

• One Mint Julep

• One O'clock Boogie

• One O'clock Jump

• One O'clock Jump [live]

• One-two-three-o'lairy

• Only The Lonely

• Open The Door, Richard

• Panassie Stomp

• Paradise Squat

• Party Blues

• Patience And Fortitude

• Pennies From Heaven

• Perdido

• Piano Man

• Platterbrains

• Please Send Me Someone To Love

• Pleasingly Plump

• Poor Little Rich Girl

• Pound Cake

• Rabble Rouser

• Rambo

• Red Bank Boogie

• Redhead

• Rent Party

• Right On

• Rock-a-bye Basie

• Rockin' The Blues

• Roll 'em Pete

• Roseland Shuffle

• Royal Garden Blues

• Rusty Dusty Blues Aka "mama Mama Blues"

• 's Wonderful

• Segue In C

• Shake, Rattle & Roll

• She's Just My Size

• Shine On Harvest Moon

• Shiny Stockings

• Shoe Shine Boy

• Silks And Satins

• Singin' In The Rain

• Sixteen Men Swinging

• Smack Dab In The Middle

• Softly With Feeling

• Somebody Stole My Girl

• Splanky

• St. Louis Blues

• Stay Cool

• Stop Beating Around The Mulberry Bush

• Stormy Monday

• Swedish Pastry

• Sweet Lorraine

• Swingin' The Blues

• Switch In Time

• Take The "a" Train

• Take The A Train

• Take The 'a' Train

• Tally-ho, Mr. Basie!

• Taps Miller

• Taxi War Dance

• Teddy The Toad

• That Old Devil Moon

• That's That

• The Basie Blues

• The Best Is Yet To Come

• The Dirty Dozens

• The Fives

• The Golden Bullet

• The Heat's On

• The Kid From Red Bank

• The Late Late Show

• The Late, Late Show

• The Mad Boogie

• The Midgets

• These Foolish Things

• Things Ain't The Way They Used To Be

• This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

• Tickle Toe

• Time On My Hands

• Tippin' On The Q.t.

• Tom Whaley

• Tune Town Shuffle

• Tuxedo Junction

• Two For The Blues

• Whirlybird

• Whirly-bird

• Wind Machine

• With Plenty Of Money And You

• Woodside (jumpin' At The Woodside)

• You Betcha My Life

• You Can Depend On Me

Discography

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• Big Band Basie

  Reference Recordings

  1994

• Kansas City 7

  Original Jazz Classics / Pablo

  1980

• Milt Jackson & Count Basie & the Big Band, Vol. 2

  Pablo

  1979

• Big Bands, An Old Manuscript

  BH Records

  1978

• On Tour Down for Double

  BH Records

  1978

• Milt Jackson & Count Basie & the Big Band, Vol. 1

  Pablo

  1978

• Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson

  Pablo

  1978

• The Gifted Ones

  Original Jazz Classics

  1977

• Kansas City 5

  Original Jazz Classics

  1977

• Fun Time: Count Basie Big Band at Montreux '75

  Pablo

  1975

• Basie Jam

  Pablo

  1973

• Afrique

  BMG International

  1971

• Basie on the Beatles

  Ocium Records (Spain)

  1970

• The Board of Directors

  DOT Records

  1967

• Basie's Beat

  Universal Distribution

  1967

• Showtime

  MCA

  1967

• Great Concert of Count Basie and His Orchestra

  Festival Records

  1966

• Inside Basie Outside

  1966

• Count Basie with Arthur Prysock

  Verve

  1966

• Basie's Swingin', Voices Singin'

  1966

• Basie Picks the Winners

  Universal Distribution

  1965

• Frankly Basie: Count Basie Plays the Hits of Frank Sinatra

  Verve

  1965

• Pop Goes the Basie

  1964

• The World of Count Basie

  Roulette Records

  1964

• Basie Land

  Verve

  1963

• On My Way & Shoutin' Again

  Verve

  1963

• Back with Basie

  Roulette Records

  1962

• At Carnegie Hall

  Columbia

  1962

• Live in Concert

  Monad

  1962

• Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan

  Roulette Records

  1962

• Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First

  Reprise

  1962

• Basie: Vaughan

  Roulette Records

  1962

• Paris Jazz Concert

  RTE

  1962

• Count Basie in Sweden

  Roulette Records

  1962

• First Time! The Count Meets the Duke

  Columbia

  1961

• Easin' It

  Roulette Records

  1960

• Just the Blues

  Roulette Records

  1960

• Not Now - I'll Tell You When

  Roulette Records

  1960

• String Along with Basie

  Roulette Records

  1960

• Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie at Newport

  Verve

  1960

• Dance with Basie

  Roulette Records

  1959

• Hall of Fame

  Fresh Sound Records

  1959

• Breakfast Dance and Barbecue

  Blue Note

  1959

• Everyday I Have the Blues

  1959

• Chairman of the Board

  Roulette Records

  1959

• Basie and Eckstine, Inc.

  Roulette Records / Capitol

  1959

• Bennett & Basie Strike Up the Band

  Roulette Records

  1959

• Live

  Sequel

  1959

• Basie Swings, Bennett Sings

  Roulette Records

  1958

• Memories Ad-Lib

  1958

• Basie Plays Hefti

  1958

• One O'Clock Jump

  Verve / PolyGram / Universal Classics & Jazz

  1957

• The Atomic Mr. Basie

  Jazz Track

  1957

• Live in Basel (1956)

  Jazz Helvet

  1956

• The Swinging Count

  Universal Distribution

  1956

• Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings

  Verve / Polygram

  1956

• Basie Rides Again

  Clef Records

  1956

• Basie Bash

  Columbia

  1956

• Basie Roars Again!

  Clef Records

  1956

• The Band Of Distinction

  Clef Records

  1956

• Basie's Back in Town

  Epic

  1955

• Let's Go to Prez

  Epic

  1955

• Jazz Royalty

  Emarcy

  1955

• The Old Count and the New Count

  Epic

  1955

• Count Basie Dance Session, Vol. 2

  Universal Distribution

  1955

• Rock the Blues

  Epic

  1955

• Dance Session

  Universal Distribution

  1954

• Basie Jazz

  Clef Records

  1954

• The Count Basie Sextet

  Clef Records

  1954

• Count Basie Dance Session, Vol. 1

  Universal Distribution

  1954

• Basie [Clef]

  1954

• Blues Backstage

  Clef Records

  1954

• Count Basie Big Band

  Clef Records

  1954

• King of Swing

  Verve

  1953

• Count Basie/Lester Young - Live at Birdland

  1952

• Count Basie and His Orchestra Collates

  Mercury

  1952

• Dance Parade

  Columbia

  1950

• Count Basie at the Piano

  Decca

  1950