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A group that included some Basie sidemen was on stage, playing in a ragged, desultory fashion, when Mr. Basie arrived. After some challenges, the Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the 1930s and '40s. Well, that was the last time I was ever introduced as Bill Basie. Young's solo was brilliant, acclaimed by some observers as an unparalleled marvel of economy, phrasing and extraordinarily moving emotion; Nat Hentoff, one of the show's producers, later commented, "Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard in the control room we were all crying. He also starred in several films, most notably the musical short Jammin' the Blues (1944). Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. His experience inspired his composition "D.B. Bookmark this page and come back often for updates. . Recorded on a home recorder. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Count Basie, Birth Year: 1904, Birth date: August 21, 1904, Birth State: New Jersey, Birth City: Red Bank, Birth Country: United States. Even more important was the fact that the Famous Door had national and local radio wires. William Basie was born at 229 Mechanic Street on August 21, 1904. He is rumored to have refused to play with the band on Friday, December 13 of that year for superstitious reasons, spurring his dismissal[11] although Young and drummer Jo Jones would later state that his departure had been in the works for months. The key factor in popularizing it was a series of repetitions of the final few bars when, as the orchestra seemingly came to the end of the piece, Mr. Basie held up a finger and called out, ''One mo' time! By the time he was ten, he had learned the basics of the trumpet, violin, and drums, and joined the Young Family Band touring with carnivals and playing in regional cities in the Southwest[6][2], In his teens he and his father clashed, and he often left home for long periods. Blues" (with D.B. As one Basie band member put it, Count dont do nothin. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Young left the Basie band in late 1940. While he never abandoned the cane reed, he used the plastic reed a significant share of the time from 1943 until the end of his life. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. At age 17, Nestico joined the ABC radio station WCAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a trombonist. ''I wanted 13 men to think and play the same way. Drag images here or select from your computer for Count Basie memorial. Wayne Shorter, then of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, composed a tribute, called "Lester Left Town". A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Resend Activation Email. Young did not fight the charges and was convicted. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? ''He commented that Bill Basie was a rather ordinary name and that there were a couple of well-known bandleaders named Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he is sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones. [12], Nestico wrote hundreds of arrangements for school band and jazz band programs. [21], This list is incomplete. When the band left for Chicago it had only 12 written arrangements in its book. In contrast to the prevailing jazz drum style exemplified by Gene Krupa's loud, insistent pounding of the bass drum on each beat, Jones often omitted bass drum playing altogether. The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, and, implicitly, Mingus as well. [18] He was given a military burial later in 2021. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Young occasionally played as a featured guest with the Count Basie Orchestra. A pianist, Count Basie played vaudeville before eventually forming his own big band and helping to define the era of swing with hits like "One O'Clock Jump" and "Blue Skies." Your IP: Beware, the Count is Here. 1956 was a relatively good year for Lester Young, including a tour of Europe with Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet and a successful residency at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, DC, with the Bill Potts Trio. ', ''The next day he invited me to sit in the pit and start working the pedals. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. He was soon court-martialed. His second great band, from the 1950s onwards, relied more on arrangements, typically from Neil Hefti and Ernie Wilkin's. In 2021, approximately 3,458,697 deaths occurred in the United States. Failed to delete memorial. The pianist Count Basie died at the age of 79. Birthday: August 21, 1904 Date of Death: April 26, 1984 Age at Death: 79 Live Live Death Statistics Worldwide and The United States Count Basie - Biography We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. From around 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking increased. Beginning in Vaudeville. He served one traumatic year in a detention barracks[15] and was dishonorably discharged in late 1945. While growing up in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, he worked from the age of five to make money for the family. Foster asked the drummer to come back for another audition in six months after the young man had listened to every recording he could find of Sonny Payne drumming with Count Basie. His autobiography (as told to Albert Murray), entitled Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones and based on conversations between Jones and novelist Murray from 1977 to before Jones' death in 1985, was posthumously published in 2011 by the University of Minnesota Press.[2]. [11] " Police deemed it suicide, Kuehl having supposedly jumped from her hotel room, although there was no proof of this", [3] and her family believes she may have been murdered. ''He was a wonderful man. [12] The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the USAF, sponsor an annual competition, the "Sammy Nestico Award" for composers and arrangers of big band music, named in his honor. Make sure that the file is a photo. One famous instance of his irritable temper was in the spring of 1936, during a jam session at the Reno Club in Kansas City. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. [4][9][10][11][12], Nestico had a long career in the film and television industry. Occupation (s) Musician. Causes of deaths for people who were 70 years and older. One of the band's most popular arrangements, ''April in Paris,'' was written in 1955 by Wild Bill Davis, a jazz organist who had originally developed it for his own small group. From then on, it was Count Basie.''. Basie is a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame as well as the Blues Hall of Fame. [28] Sonny Stitt began to incorporate elements from Lester Young's approach when he made the transition to tenor saxophone. With vocals by Jimmy Rushing, the band set up shop to perform at Kansas City's Reno Club. Count Basie, byname of William Basie, (born August 21, 1904, Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Florida), American jazz musician noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2b3f35bc02472d The top global causes of death, in order of total number of lives lost, are associated with three broad topics: cardiovascular (ischaemic heart disease, stroke), respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections) and neonatal conditions - which include birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, and preterm birth complications. After moving to New York, he was further influenced by James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, with Waller teaching Basie organ-playing techniques. The Sun is about vitality and is the core giver of life. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. ''He was the only leader in the business who ever went out of his way to help me,'' Mr. Basie said later. Discover what happened on this day. Finally, Willard Alexander, a booking agent, in an effort to get the band on 52d Street, then the jazz center of New York, made a deal with the Famous Door, a shoebox of a room, 25 feet wide and about 50 feet long, which was having trouble doing business in the summer because it had no air-conditioning. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. . As a result, the band got a date at the Grand Terrace in Chicago. He's not limited to anything. He was also honored by ASMAC and the Big Band Academy of America. His alma mater later awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Music degree and the Distinguished Alumni award. Played for Kennedy and Reagan. [1] Jones, Basie, guitarist Freddie Green and bassist Walter Page were sometimes billed as an "All-American Rhythm section," an ideal team. Please reset your password. A system error has occurred. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. [7] Young left the family band in 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour in the Southern United States, where Jim Crow laws were in effect and racial segregation was required in public facilities. Mr. Basie was born in Red Bank, N.J., on Aug. 21, 1904, an only child who was christened William. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. From Bill to Count. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. ''I had dropped into the old Lincoln Theater in Harlem,'' Mr. Basie once recalled, ''and I heard a young fellow beating it out on an organ. He was one of the greatest bandleaders of all-time, epitomizing the jazz of south-western America. He was famous for being a Pianist. He recorded less often with his big band during this era (although when he did, the results were outstanding), concentrating instead on small-group and piano-duet recordings. During childhood, Sammy Americanized his name to Samuel Louis Nestico. [18] In 1956, he recorded two LPs with his 1930s collaborators Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones. [8] When jazz record producer Norman Granz formed his Pablo label in the 1970s, several established jazz artists, including Basie, signed on in order to record unfettered by commercial demands. He was sometimes known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger . This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But it sure sounds good.. She gave Lester the nickname "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt, the "greatest man around" in Billie's mind. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. To help it through the Grand Terrace engagement, Fletcher Henderson, who had provided Benny Goodman with the arrangements that enabled his band to break through a year earlier, lent Mr. Basie some of his arrangements. [23] On January 31, 2008, Sady Sullivan conducted an oral history interview with Dr. Lester W. Young Jr.[24] At approximately 1:10:00 he speaks about his father, listening to jazz, learning to play, and how having a famous father did not convey any favours. [19][20][4], Nestico received honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Duquesne University and in 2005 from Shenandoah University. This browser does not support getting your location. His playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the more forceful approach of Coleman Hawkins, the dominant tenor sax player of the day. He emerged from this treatment improved. recording ban by the American Federation of Musicians, Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia, "Lester 'Pres' Young in Minneapolis: The Formative Years", "Frankie Trumbauer - Biography & History", "Lester Young - Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio - AllMusic", "Stories of Standards: Lester Leaps In by Lester Young", "Lester Young With the Oscar Peterson Trio - Lester Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits", "Young, Lester, Jr. (2008/01/31) | Oral History", "Lester Young: 'The Prez' Still Rules At 100", "Seven Music Greats Added to ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lester_Young&oldid=1142318678, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". We have set your language to Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? He was one of the greatest bandleaders of all-time, epitomizing the jazz of south-western America. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Among his band's best-known numbers were ''One O'Clock Jump,'' ''Jumpin' at the Woodside,'' ''Li'l Darlin' '' and ''April in Paris.''. Verify and try again. [9] One of Young's key influences was Frankie Trumbauer, who came to prominence in the 1920s with Paul Whiteman and played the C-melody saxophone (between the alto and tenor in pitch).[10]. She was also in physical decline, near the end of her career, yet they both gave moving performances. Mr. Basie's band, more than any other, was the epitome of swing, of jazz that moved with a built-in flowing intensity. Mr. Basie and his orchestra were scheduled to appear at the Kool Jazz Festival on June 30 in a program that would reunite them with many of the jazz stars who have passed through the Basie band. Count Basies birth sign is Leo and he had a ruling planet of Sun. Count Basie. But I wanted that bite to be just as tasty and subtle as if it were the three brass I used to use. In the early 1990s after Count Basie's death, leader Frank Foster was auditioning a young drummer for the Basie Band. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Try again later. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Fresh out of Kansas City, the Basie band took Manhattan by storm in 1937. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Don Byron recorded the album Ivey-Divey in gratitude for what he learned from studying Lester Young's work, modeled after a 1946 trio date with Buddy Rich and Nat King Cole. ''Can you imagine a man who kind of romps around the piano,'' Mr. Shearing said, ''and those tiny tinkling things. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. In 1952 increased demand for personal appearances allowed Basie to form a new orchestra that in many ways was as highly praised as his bands of the 1930s and 40s. Despite the presence of Lester Young and Herschel Evans in the saxophone section, Buck Clayton in the trumpet section, Jo Jones on drums, with Jimmy Rushing and, briefly, Billie Holiday as vocalists, the Basie band struggled for a year after it left Kansas City. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. He married Catherine Morgan on August 21, 1942, with whom he had one child. After earning his degree, Nestico then returned to the military, where he arranged music for the United States Air Force Band (19501963), as well as leading the Glenn Miller Army Air Corps dance band, which would later become known as the Airmen of Note. standing for detention barracks).[16]. Try again later. He started out to be a drummer. His mother paid 25 cents per piano lesson for him when he was young. Generation. Oops, something didn't work. He would ask, "How does the bread smell?" Count Basie Birth Name: William James Basie Occupation: Pianist Place Of Birth: Red Bank Date Of Birth: August21, 1904 Date Of Death: April 26, 1984 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: Black Nationality: American Count Basie was born on the 21st of August, 1904. "[4][9], After leaving the military, Nestico became a freelance arranger. This stemmed primarily from the presence in the rhythm section, from 1937 to the present, of both Mr. Basie on piano and Freddie Green on guitar. From that time on, I was a daily customer, hanging onto every note, sitting behind him all the time. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. [34], Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains a story called "Pork Pie Hat", a fictionalized account of the life of Lester Young. Outstanding soloists such as tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson, Paul Quinichette, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis and trumpeters Clark Terry and Charlie Shavers, figured prominently. See the article in its original context from. Discography. Young is a major character in English writer Geoff Dyer's 1991 fictional book about jazz, But Beautiful. You can always change this later in your Account settings. 24 part "Interview with Lester Young", conducted in the 1950s. [6] His family moved to Minneapolis in 1919 and Young stayed there for much of the 1920s, first picking up the tenor saxophone while living there. He is survived by a daughter, Diane Basie of Freeport. ''And that's when the whole fire started,'' said Mr. Alexander. [1] Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military, but he remained with Basie until 1948. Homage to Lester Young (1993), a book of poetry by Vancouver writer Jamie Reid. Young was the subject of an opera, Prez: A Jazz Opera, that was written by Bernard Cash and Alan Plater and broadcast by BBC television in 1985. Click to reveal Jones died of pneumonia in New York City at the age of 73. (William) Count Basie (1904-1984) was an extremely popular figure in the jazz world for half a century. Birth and Death Data: Born August 21st, 1904 (Red Bank . In 1958, Basie became the first African American male recipient of a Grammy Award. One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. This page is updated often with latest details about Count Basie. They had two children: Lester W. Young Jr. (born 1947) and Yvette Young (born 1957). To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. [12], Nestico married his second wife, Shirley, in 1995, and was married to her until his death. He thought he could never outmatch Greers talent, so he took up piano at 15. He flicked out tightly economical, single-finger passages, directing his musicians with a glance, a lift of an eyebrow or a note hit gently but positively in passing. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! [6], In 1933, Young settled in Kansas City, where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie. In a partnership with Billy May, Nestico was involved in the transcription, arranging, and re-recording of 630 big band songs originally recorded in the 1930s and 1940s. Lester married three times. [4][7], Beginning in 1982, Nestico began releasing solo albums, with Dark Orchid" as his debut album. He recorded with trumpeter Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders in 1931, and later joined pianist Count Basie's band in 1934. In 1952 he was featured on Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, released in 1954 on Norgran. Throughout the 1960s, Basies recordings were often uninspired and marred by poor choice of material, but he remained an exceptional concert performer and made fine records with singers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra. During his tenure, a composition by Nestico led President Johnson to remark "You call this music?" From 2020 to 2021, the age-adjusted death rate (AADR) increased by 0.7%, from 835.4 to 841.6 per 100,000 standard population. Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and Quincy Jones were among the stars to pay tribute. When the Page band broke up in 1929, Mr. Count Basie, byname of William Basie, (born August 21, 1904, Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.died April 26, 1984, Hollywood, Florida), American jazz musician noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands. Courtesy of the artist. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. One day he asked me whether I played the organ. Early "in person" recordings. Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. He rose to fame after taking over Bennie Moten's band in 1935. He was 67. Allmusic's Scott Yanow, reviewing one of the albums, Pres and Teddy, commented: Although it has been written much too often that Lester Young declined rapidly from the mid-'40s on, the truth is that when he was healthy, Young played at his very best during the '50s, adding an emotional intensity to his sound that had not been present during the more carefree days of the '30s. He was 79 years old and lived in Freeport, the Bahamas. Jazz Stars in the Band. From 1935 to his death in 1984, pianist and bandleader Count Basie led one of the most important jazz institutions of the 20th century, in the process forging a distinctive sound that changed the . Especially noteworthy were the albums featuring the duo of Basie and Oscar Peterson, with Basies economy and Petersons dexterous virtuosity proving an effective study in contrasts.