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Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 1950s, the band survived long past the Big Band era itself and the death of Basie in 1984. It continues under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart. Originally including such musicians as Buck Clayton and Lester Young in the line-up, the band in the 1950s and 1960s made use of the work of such arrangers as Neal Hefti and featured musicians such as Thad Jones and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Its recordings of this era included collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. History Early years Count Basie arrived in Kansas City, Missouri in 1927, playing on the Theater Owners Bookers Association (TOBA) circuit. After playing with Walter Page's Blue Devils, in 1929 he joined rival band leader Bennie Moten's band. Up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by population, 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Missouri–Kansas state line and has a population of 2,392,035. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County, with portions spilling into Clay County, Missouri, Clay, Cass County, Missouri, Cass, and Platte County, Missouri, Platte counties. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a port on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850, the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued, and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Page
Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestra.Feather, Leonard and Ira Gitler. ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 511 Early life Page was born in Gallatin, Missouri on February 9, 1900 to parents Edward and Blanche Page.Lorre, Sea''Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians'': "Page, Walter (Sylvester)."Jazz.com. Retrieved 9 April 2012. Page showed a love for music even as a child, perhaps due in part to the influence of his aunt Lillie, a music teacher. Page's mother, with whom he moved to Kansas City in 1910, exposed him to folksongs and spirituals, a critical foundation for developing his love of music. He gained his first musical experience as a bass drum and bass horn player in the brass bands of his neighborhood.Driggs, Frank. "About My ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook and DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfoot ( D) , leader_title1 = City Clerk , leader_name1 = Anna Valencia ( D) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_total ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Terrace
Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua Mansa industrial corridors. The city is located between two mountain ridges: Blue Mountain to the east and the La Loma Hills to the west. History Grand Terrace's roots go back to Mexican land grants dating from the period between 1830 and 1840. Mormon settlers came shortly after, arriving in the San Bernardino Valley, during the 1850s. According to the ''Riverside Press'', in 1876, there were nine buildings in the Terrace-Colton area. Originally, the area was simply referred to as "the Terrace", but the word "Grand" was added around 1898 due to the beautiful views which surround the city. In 1905, Seventh-day Adventists, whose medical university is now located in nearby Loma Linda, settled in the area. Grand Terrace, at the time known a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition. Though riffs are most often found in rock music, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, classical music is also sometimes based on a riff, such as Ravel's Boléro. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the head arrangements played by the Count Basie Orchestra. David Brackett (1999) defines riffs as "short melodic phrases", while Richard Middleton (1999) defines them as "short rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic figures repeated to form a structural framework". Rikky Rooksby states: "A riff is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase, often pitched low on the guitar, which focuses much of the energy and exc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Improvisation
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties, across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation. Improvisation also exists outside the arts. Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Improvised weapons are often used by guerrillas, insurgents and criminals. Engineering Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Examples of such improvisation was the re-engineering of carbon dioxide scrubbers with the materials on hand during the Apollo 13 space mission, or the use of a knife in place of a screwdriver to turn a screw. Engineering improvisations may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jam Session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs. Original jam sessions, also called "free flow sessions," are often used by musicians to develop new material (music) and find suitable arrangements. Both styles can be used simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator or host acts as a " gatekeeper" so that appropriate-level performers take the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jo Jones
Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger drummer Philly Joe Jones. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Jones moved to Alabama, where he learned to play several instruments, including saxophone, piano, and drums. He worked as a drummer and tap-dancer at carnival shows until joining Walter Page's band, the Blue Devils in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s. He recorded with trumpeter Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders in 1931, and later joined pianist Count Basie's band in 1934. Jones, Basie, guitarist Freddie Green and bassist Walter Page were sometimes billed as an "All-American Rhythm section," an ideal team. Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military, but he remained with Basie until 1948. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhythm Section
A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm section is often contrasted with the roles of other musicians in the band, such as the lead guitarist or lead vocals whose primary job is to carry the melody. The core elements of the rhythm section are usually the drum kit and bass. The drums and bass provide the basic pulse and groove of a song. The section is augmented by other instruments such as keyboard instruments and guitars that are used to play the chord progression upon which the song is based. The bass instrument (either double bass or electric bass guitar, or another low-register instrument, such as synth bass, depending on the group and its style of music) plays the low-pitched bassline. The bassline is a musical part that supports the chord progression, typically b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Minor
Dan "Slamfoot" Minor (August 10, 1909 – April 11, 1982) was an American jazz trombonist who featured in the bands of Count Basie, Cab Calloway and many others from the 1920s to the 1940s. Early life He was born in Dallas, Texas, and played for a local church orchestra in his teens before joining local band the Blue Moon Chasers and then, in 1927, his first major professional engagement as a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils. Career In 1929 Minor joined another band, the Blues Syncopaters led by Ben Smith, and also worked around the same time in bands led by Earl Dykes, Gene Coy, Lloyd Hunter and Alphonse Trent. In 1931, he joined the Bennie Moten band. He remained with the band after Moten's death in 1935, when its leadership was taken over by Count Basie, and stayed with the Basie orchestra until 1941. During that period he performed at the ''From Spirituals to Swing'' concerts in New York City in 1938 and 1939.''From Spirituals to Swing'', liner notes, Definitive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earle Warren
Earle Warren (born Earl Ronald Warren; July 1, 1914 – June 4, 1994) was an American saxophonist. He was part of the Count Basie Orchestra from 1937. Early life Warren was born in Springfield, Ohio, on July 1, 1914. "He played piano, banjo, and ukulele in a family band before taking up C-melody, tenor, and finally alto saxophone." Later life and career When Warren became professional in 1930, he added an "e" to the end of his first name to make it different from other jazz musicians named "Earl". In his early career, he toured the Midwest as a sideman, and led his own bands. He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937, playing baritone and alto saxophones initially, and then being lead altoist and occasional clarinettist and vocalist until 1945. He led bands and occasionally reunited with Basie towards the end of the decade. After managing some bands, he joined trumpeter Buck Clayton in 1957. Warren appeared in ''Born to Swing'', the 1972 film about former members of Basie's b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buster Smith
Henry Franklin "Buster" Smith (August 24, 1904 – August 10, 1991), also known as Professor Smith, was an American jazz alto saxophonist and mentor to Charlie Parker.Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsmgx (accessed October 27, 2007) Smith was instrumental in instituting the Texas Sax Sound with Count Basie and Lester Young in the 1930s. Smith played saxophone for a number of prominent band leaders including Duke Ellington and Earl Hines as well as vocalist Ella Fitzgerald. He recorded his only album as leader in 1959 and despite intending to record a follow-up, he was injured in an accident and nothing else was released. Biography Early life Smith was born and raised in Alsdorf, Texas, a small township near Telico in the outskirts of Dallas, where he attended school as a child. Smith earned the name "Buster" from his parents as a baby, as he was born as an overweight child. Buster was the third of five boys and had no sisters, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
