ENDEIT
Count Basie
Photo: James J. Kriegsmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pianists · 1904–1984

Count Basie

American jazz musician and composer (1904–1984)

Born
21 August 1904
Red Bank
Died
26 April 1984
Hollywood
Country
United States
Active
1924–1984
Record labels
Decca, RCA Records, Mercury Records, Apex
Discography
88 albums

Biography

Count Basie was a jazz musician who played piano, organ, Hammond organ and jazz piano. Count Basie was born on 21 August 1904 in Red Bank and died on 26 April 1984 in Hollywood. The music is usually filed under jazz, swing and big band music. Record labels: Decca, RCA Records, Mercury Records and Apex. The discography here lists 88 albums, from “Basie Roars Again” (1956) to “Four Classic Albums” (2024). Honours include Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (1958), Grammy Award for Best Performance by an Orchestra – for Dancing (1958) and Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance (1976).

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.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Basie Roars Again 1956 · Verve King of Swing 1956 · Clef Records Pop Goes The Basie 1956 · Reprise Records The Greatest! Count Basie Plays...Joe Williams Sings Standards 1956 · Verve At Newport 1957 · Live · Columbia Records Basie Rides Again 1957 · Verve Basie Plays Hefti 1958 · Roulette The Atomic Mr. Basie 1958 · Roulette Jazz Basie & Eckstine Incorporated 1959 · Roulette Count Basie and His Orchestra Swings / Tony Bennett Sings 1959 · Roulette Just The Blues 1960 · Roulette String Along With Basie 1960 · Roulette The Count! 1960 · Verve Count Basie / Sarah Vaughan 1961 · Roulette Basie Picks the Winners 1965 · Verve Big Band Scene '65 1965 · Roulette Count At The Organ 1965 · Verve Records, Inc. Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' 1966 · ABC-Paramount Inside Basie Outside 1966 · VSP Count Basie Captures Walt Disney's The Happiest Millionaire 1967 · London Records Manufacturers of Soul 1968 · Brunswick The Board of Directors Annual Report 1968 · Dot Records Count Basie + Voices 1972 · Roulette From Broadway To Paris 1973 · ABC Records The Songs of Bessie Smith 1973 · Philips The Bosses 1974 · Pablo Basie Jam 1975 · Pablo Sixteen Great Performances 1975 · ABC Records “Satch” and “Josh” 1975 · Pablo Basie & Zoot 1976 · Pablo Sessions, Live 1976 · Live · Calliope Grand Concert gravé en 1945 1977 · Locomotive Live At Birdland December 1952 New-York City 1978 · Live · Musidisc The Gifted Ones 1979 · Pablo Kansas City Shout 1980 · Pablo Kansas City 6 1981 · Original Jazz Classics Get Together 1986 · Pablo Mostly Blues...and Some Others 1986 · Pablo Yessir, That's My Baby 1986 · Pablo Autumn in Paris 1988 · Magic Records Basie and Friends 1988 · Pablo Basie Boogie 1989 · Distribution Movieplay Count Basie Jam / Montreux '77 1989 · Pablo Live One O'Clock Jump 1989 · Object Enterprises Basie One More Time 1991 · Roulette Jazz Loose Walk 1991 · Pablo Basie Jam #3 1992 · Pablo Basie's Basement 1992 · Bluebird Compact Jazz: Count Basie Plays The Blues 1992 · Verve
Jazztime 1992
Kansas City 7 1992 · Pablo Night Rider 1992 · Original Jazz Classics Big Bands: Count Basie 1993 · Time–Life Music Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings 1993 · Verve Count Basie and His Great Vocalists 1993 · Columbia The Timekeepers 1993 · Original Jazz Classics Basie Boogie 1994 · Retro Music
Count Basie – The Very Best 1994
Cute 1994 · Eclipse Music Group Listen... You Shall Hear 1994 · HEP Records
Paris Jazz Concert, Salle Pleyel, 17 Avril 1972 1995 · Live
Pop Classics 1995 · Brunswick Afrique 1996 Blues Alley 1996 · LaserLight Digital Farmers Market Barbecue 1996 · Original Jazz Classics Kansas City 5 1996 · Original Jazz Classics Me and You 1996 Sophisticated Swing 1996 · BMG Satch & Josh... Again 1998 · Original Jazz Classics Swingsation 1998 · GRP Cool Too 1999 · Vanguard Too Marvelous for Words 1999 · Vanguard April in Paris 2000 · Duoline Midnite Jazz & Blues: Blue & Sentimental 2000 · Weton‐Wesgram The Lang-Worth Transcriptions 2000 · Soundies Class of '54 2001 · 1201 music I Grandi Del Jazz - Count Basie - Verve Jazz Masters 2 2002 · RCS Quotidiani S.p.A. Kansas City Powerhouse 2002
Salle Pleyel - Apr. 17th, 1972 2002 · Live
Chairman of the Board 2003 · Parlophone Basie Jam 2 2006 · Original Jazz Classics Swingin' the Blues 2010 · EuroArts Music International At The Piano 2024 · Verve Reissues
Four Classic Albums 2024
Li'l Ol' Groovemaker · Verve
On Broadway
One O'Clock Jump
Solid As a Rock · SongCast

Also plays on

Albums where Count Basie is credited as a sideman

1955 Benny Goodman Combos — Benny Goodman piano
1955 The Benny Goodman Story, Vol. 1 — Benny Goodman arranger
1955 The Jo Jones Special — Jo Jones piano
1961 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke — Duke Ellington and Count Basie piano
1961 I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face — Tony Bennett, Al Tornello piano
1963 Ella and Basie! — Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra piano
1964 It Might as Well Be Swing — Frank Sinatra, Count Basie And His Orchestra piano
1965 A Man and His Music — Frank Sinatra piano
1965 Sammy Davis & Count Basie: Our Shining Hour — Sammy Davis Jr. & Count Basie piano
1966 Arthur Prysock / Count Basie — Arthur Prysock / Count Basie piano
1982 A Classy Pair — Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra piano
1984 The Savoy Recordings — Lester Young piano
1986 Bing ’n Basie — Bing Crosby & Count Basie piano
1987 The Complete Lester Young — Lester Young piano
1989 Tony Bennett with the Count Basie Orchestra — Tony Bennett with The Count Basie Orchestra piano
1989 Flip, Flop & Fly — Big Joe Turner with Count Basie & His Orchestra piano
1990 Tony Bennett in Concert With Count Basie — Tony Bennett performer, piano
1992 + The Big Band - Vol.1 — Milt Jackson & Count Basie piano
1996 + The Big Band - Vol.2 — Milt Jackson & Count Basie piano
1997 Lady Be Good — Lester Young piano
1998 Gershwin Jazz — George Gershwin piano
2002 The Complete Savoy Recordings — Lester Young piano
2006 Satch and Josh....Again — Oscar Peterson & Count Basie piano
2019 Selected Sessions (1934-1943) — Coleman Hawkins piano

Awards

Historic 78 rpm records

  • JUMP FOR ME COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCH. · Ed Lewis · Harry Edison · Buck Clayton ·… archive.org ↗
  • THE WORLD IS MAD COUNT BASIE'S ORCHESTRA · Lester Young · Buddy Tate · Ed Lewis, H… archive.org ↗
  • LADY BE GOOD LESTER YOUNG · COUNT BASIE'S KANSAS CITY SEVEN · Lester Young · Carl… archive.org ↗
  • THE WORLD IS MAD COUNT BASIE'S ORCHESTRA · Lester Young · Buddy Tate · Ed Lewis, H… archive.org ↗
  • Baby, Don't Tell On Me COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCH. · Jimmy Rushing · Young · Basie · Rushing archive.org ↗
  • Baby, Don't Tell On Me COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCH. · Jimmy Rushing · Young · Basie · Rushing archive.org ↗
  • Rock-A-Bye Basie COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCH. · Collins · Young · Basie archive.org ↗
  • Rock-A-Bye Basie COUNT BASIE & HIS ORCH. · Collins · Young · Basie archive.org ↗

Books about Count Basie

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Count Basie play?

Count Basie is known for playing piano, organ, Hammond organ and jazz piano.

When and where was Count Basie born?

Count Basie was born 21 August 1904 in Red Bank.

What are Count Basie's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Basie Roars Again (1956), King of Swing (1956), Pop Goes The Basie (1956), The Greatest! Count Basie Plays...Joe Williams Sings Standards (1956) and At Newport (1957).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.