Linda Lipnack Kuehl - Wikipedia Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States,[1] Jones moved to Alabama, where he learned to play several instruments, including saxophone, piano, and drums. 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 best-known of these appearances is the July 1957 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, with a line-up including many of his 1940s colleagues: Jo Jones, Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet and Jimmy Rushing. Anyone can read what you share. Butch Miles Cause of Death? Drummer of the Count Basie Orchestra Passed Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 - March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. Corrections? As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Basie was born William James Basie (with some sources listing his middle name as "Allen") on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey. The family always owned a piano, and Lilly Ann paid twenty-five cents per lesson to . Count Basie was born in Red Bank. Charles Mingus dedicated an elegy to Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", only a few months after his death. Try again. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Other than in the last two visualizations, this piece uses a measure called the age-adjusted death rate. [32] At Minguss request, Joni Mitchell wrote lyrics to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat which incorporated stories Mingus told Mitchell about Young; the song was featured on Mitchells 1979 album release, Mingus, a collaboration instigated by Mingus during the last year of his life as he struggled with the ALS that would kill him. Duffy Jackson, with bassist Jim Furgeson, at Rudy's Jazz Room in Nashville. William James Basie is part of G.I. Page, Mr. Basie and Mr. Rushing all joined Bennie Moten's orchestra, the leading big band in the Southwest, which became even stronger with their presence. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. After Young's clarinet was stolen in 1939, he abandoned the instrument until about 1957. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. In 1950, when big bands were falling apart, Mr. Basie cut down to an eight-piece group but by 1952 he was leading a big band once again. Basie benefited greatly from his association with Granz and made several recordings during the 70s that rank among his best work. Count Basie - The Jazz Band That Swung Big And Bold - uDiscover Music Best Known For: 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. Count Basie Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings Small record labels not bound by union contracts continued to record, and Young recorded some sessions for Harry Lim's Keynote label in 1943. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. 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. Young also recorded extensively in the late 1940s for Aladdin Records (1945-1947, where he had made the Cole recordings in 1942) and for Savoy (1944, 1949 and 1950), some sessions of which included Basie on piano. This is a carousel with slides. Arrangers Neal Hefti, Buster Harding, and Ernie Wilkins defined the new bands sound on recordings such as Lil Darlin, The Kid from Red Bank, Cute, and April in Paris and on celebrated albums such as The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957). During a radio broadcast of the band's performance, the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some pizazz, keeping in mind the existence of other bandleaders like .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Duke Ellington and Earl Hines. cemeteries found in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He later worked for a few years with a band led by Bennie Moten, who died in 1935. ''He certainly made a notch in musical history,'' said Benny Goodman, 75 years old, the jazz clarinetist and bandleader. I mean, he'll concert you all, and then he'll swing you all, too, you understand, when he's ready to. Played for Kennedy and Reagan. Once more details are available, we will update this section. Generation. Jones performed regularly in later years at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City. when asking how much a gig was going to pay.[31]. Another cause for the thickening of his tone around this time was a change in saxophone mouthpiece from a metal Otto Link to an ebonite Brilhart. [20] His second was to Mary Dale. Along with Duke Ellington, Count Basie is regarded as one of the two most important and influential bandleaders in the history of jazz. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. He was represented at the ceremony by his children Lester Young Jr and Yvette Young.[36]. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick! There was a memorable concert at Town Hall several years ago when a number of musicians, including Mr. Basie, were scheduled to perform in a variety of combinations. [6], In 1933, Young settled in Kansas City, where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie. Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Oscar Peterson and Quincy Jones were among the stars to pay tribute. Please reset your password. Breakthrough on 52d Street. The band itself carried on into the next century, with Thad Jones, Frank Foster, and Grover Mitchell each assuming leadership for various intervals. The pianist in the combo gave up his seat to Mr. Basie who sat down, tinkled a few introductory notes, looked up at the drummer, nodded at the rest of the group and, when the combo took off, the musicians were playing as brilliantly and cleanly as they had been disheveled only a few moments before. In September 1944, Young and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles with the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army. The strengths of this sign are being creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous, while weaknesses can be arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy and inflexible. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. and the bebop revolution of the mid-1940s all played a role in the death of the big-band era. Count Basie | American musician | Britannica 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. Directing With a Glance Mr. Basie, a short, stocky, taciturn but witty man who liked to wear a yachting cap offstage, presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. His piano style, which often seemed bare and simple, was an exquisitely realized condensation of the florid ''stride'' style of Fats Waller and James P. Johnson with whom Mr. Basie started. In fact, the only reason I enlarged the brass was to get a richer harmonic structure. Some of their notable songs included "One O'Clock Jump"the orchestra's signature tune which Basie composed himself and "Jumpin' at the Woodside.". William Basie was born at 229 Mechanic Street on August 21, 1904. On a flight to New York City, he suffered from internal bleeding due to the effects of alcoholism and died in the early morning hours of March 15, 1959, only hours after arriving back in New York, at the age of 49.[26]. [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. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. William James " Count " Basie ( / besi /; August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) [1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. [3], Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909. Count Bill Basie . He's not limited to anything. This account has been disabled. His father was a teacher and band leader. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. [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. He was sometimes known as Papa Jo Jones to distinguish him from younger . GREAT NEWS! 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. Young is described as playing the clarinet in a "liquid, nervous style. Courtesy of the artist. Instrument (s) Drums. His first marriage was to Beatrice Tolliver, in Albuquerque, on 23 February 1930. Verify and try again. In August 1944, Young appeared alongside drummer Jo Jones, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and fellow tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Gjon Mili's short film Jammin' the Blues. Count Basie - Wikipedia From around 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking increased. Jones also continued a ride rhythm on hi-hat, while it was continuously opening and closing instead of the common practice of only striking it while it was closed. You can always change this later in your Account settings. [4][5][6][7] After leaving the military, he completed a degree in music education at Duquesne University. When we played pop tunesand, naturally, we had toI wanted those pops to kick! Live recording of Young and Potts in Washington were issued later. ''One night the announcer called me to the microphone for those usual few words of introduction,'' Mr. Basie once recalled. As orchestrator, he worked on nearly seventy television programs, including Mission: Impossible,[11] Mannix, M*A*S*H,[13] Charlie's Angels,[14] and The Mod Squad. He was also helming one of the biggest, most renowned African American jazz groups of the day. He was one of the greatest bandleaders of all-time, epitomizing the jazz of south-western America. To use this feature, use a newer browser. His playing showed reliance on a small number of clichd phrases and reduced creativity and originality, despite his claims that he did not want to be a "repeater pencil" (Young coined this phrase to describe the act of repeating one's own past ideas). [16] Nestico composed commercial jingles for Anheuser-Busch, Zenith, Ford Motor Company, Mattel Toys, Pittsburgh Paint, the National Guard, Dodge, Remington Bank, and Americard. A system error has occurred. All Rights Reserved. Birth and Death Data: Born August 21st, 1904 (Red Bank .