Count Basie

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, 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, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.
==Links to Peel==
Count Basie was regarded as second only to Duke Ellington among leaders of jazz big bands. The Basie band regularly visited Britain in the 1960s and '70s, sometimes making TV appearances, and among their fans was talk show host Michael Parkinson. Peel's colleague on Night Ride in the late 1960's, Jon Curle, was also a keen fan of Basie's work and would play some of his tracks on his part of the show. Their music was often heard on BBC jazz programmes such as Humphrey Lyttelton's The Best Of Jazz and Jazz Record Requests, introduced for many years by Peter Clayton. 
Although Basie attempted to move with the times, recording a couple of albums of Beatles material in the late 1960s, jazz critics maintained that most of his band's best recordings were made in the 1930s and 1950s. Nevertheless the Basie band retained a broader following than most jazz artists and their records were played on non-Peel Night Rides and other Radio Two shows. 
In the later years of his radio career, Peel occasionally played some of Count Basie's material on his programmes and chose the musician's 'Panassie Stomp', a track from the "classic" era of the first, all-star Basie band, as one of the songs for the Peelenium 1938. He also chose some of the band's work from the same period for the Pig's Big 78 in 2000 and 2001, showing a special liking for their version of "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie" which he played on at least three occasions.
==Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1999
*11 August 1999: 'Panassie Stomp' (Peelenium 1938)
;2000
*02 August 2000: Jumpin' at the Woodside (v/a CD set - The Golden Age of Swing) Pulse
*16 August 2000: 'Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie' (LP 'The Golden Age Of Swing') Castle Communications
*August 2000 (FSK): Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie
*September 2000 (FSK): Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie
*27 September 2000: Don't Worry About Me (78 - Cotton Club Parade) (Pig's Big 78)
;2001
*05 September 2001: High Tide (Short Kick) - Pig's Big 78
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Official Website
Category:Artists