Count Basie's Influence On Jazz

One of the most influential people in Jazz, Count Basie, is not only known for being the primary influencer in the big-band era, but also for being the first African- American recipient of a Grammy Award. Not only did he go on to win more Grammy awards, he went on to play along aside other jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald and Bennie Moten. Count Basie stands alone as being one of the greatest in jazz music. The jazz legend was born on August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father was working for a judge while his mother baked pastries to sell publicly. Both of his parents came from musical backgrounds with his father playing the mellophone and his mother playing the piano. His first introduction to the piano came from his mother, …show more content…
The bands main agenda was to get to the level of big bands such as the Duke Ellington’s bands. Not only did Basie play the piano for the band, he also helped compose there music as well. This is where Basie become most notable for the “Moten Swing”. The “Moten Swing” is one of the key elements to the uprising of swing music during this period. After Moten’s Death in 1935, the Moten band dissolved and Count Basie form another band called Barons of Rhythm which included many of the original members from Moten’s Band, which also included key member, Lester Young. The band mostly played at the Reno Club in Kansas City. The band was also featured on the local broadcast and this is how Basie got his nickname “Count” from. The announcer of the radio broadcast called him “Count” which would stay with Basie throughout his music career and gave him his own unique nickname that the other legendary jazz musicians …show more content…
When listening to it, it gives way to the lack of quality the music equipment had during this time in 1938. In the beginning of the song, the rhythm and beat were very tuneful. It made me wonder if this is what swing primarily was and exactly how it made Count Basie’s music stand out in that era and the eras after Big Band. During the song, I could hear trumpets, drums, and pianos. Overall, this recording was interesting to me since it was a lot more appealing to listen to than some of the other songs that I have heard from this era. The only thing that I disliked about the song was the recording quality. I too understand that was inevitable due to the lack of the technological advances in recording equipment.
Count Basie not only stands out as one of the greatest Jazz musicians in history, but also as one of the great overall musicians to ever play, compose, and lead. His influence in big band era helped pave way to not only his success but, to the members of his band and future jazz musicians through the upcoming eras. The imprint that he has left in Jazz will surely stay throughout Jazz and throughout music in

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