What was count basie famous for

Basie's arrangements made good use of soloists, allowing musicians such as Lester Young, Buck Clayton , Sweets Edison , and Frank Foster to create some of their best work. Although his strength was as a bandleader, Basie's sparse piano style often delighted audiences with its swinging simplicity.

Basie's first teacher was his mother, who taught him piano. Later, the informal organ lessons from his mentor Fats Waller helped him find work in a theater accompanying silent films.

In , Basie started his own Kansas City band, engaging the core of the Moten band. They performed nightly radio broadcasts, which caught the attention of music producer John Hammond. By the next year, the band was a fixture on 52nd Street, in residence at the Famous Door. He later worked for a few years with a band led by Bennie Moten, who died in Basie then formed the Barons of Rhythm with some of his bandmates from Moten's group, including saxophonist Lester Young.

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 Duke Ellington and Earl Hines. So he called the pianist "Count," with Basie not realizing just how much the name would catch on as a form of recognition and respect in the music world. Producer John Hammond heard the band's sound and helped secure further bookings. After some challenges, the Count Basie Orchestra had a slew of hits that helped to define the big-band sound of the s and '40s.

Some of their notable songs included "One O'Clock Jump"—the orchestra's signature tune which Basie composed himself — and "Jumpin' at the Woodside.

With the group becoming highly distinguished for its soloists, rhythm section and style of swing, Basie himself was noted for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and precise, impeccable musical leadership. He was also helming one of the biggest, most renowned African American jazz groups of the day. Due to changing fortunes and an altered musical landscape, Basie was forced to scale down the size of his orchestra at the start of the s, but he soon made a comeback and returned to his big-band structure in , recording new hits with vocalist Joe Williams and becoming an international figure.

Another milestone came with the album April in Paris , whose title track contained psyche-you-out endings that became a new band signature. Basie ultimately earned nine Grammy Awards over the course of his career, but he made history when he won his first, in , as the first African American man to receive a Grammy. A projectionist taught him to rewind the reels, switch between projectors, and operate the spotlight for the vaudeville shows.

Nonetheless persistent, the young Basie waited for the film to start, crept into the orchestra pit, and accompanied the film anyway. He was invited back to perform that evening. Greer, who later rose to fame as the drummer for the Duke Ellington Orchestra, was so obviously superior to Basie that he made a hasty retreat to the piano. The men became friends and formed a duo. In , Basie moved to New York City. There, he met and was influenced by noted stride pianists James P.

Johnson and Fats Waller. Though just a teenager, Basie was touring as a pianist and accompanist on the major vaudeville circuits. In , a canceled tour left Basie stranded in Kansas City, Missouri.

Basie left the Blue Devils early in to play with other bands in the area, and later that year schemed his way into the top band in the territory, the Bennie Moten band. Moten himself was a pianist, but the band so influenced Basie that he was undeterred in wrangling a position for himself as staff arranger and substitute pianist.

During one dispute about an upcoming performance, the band voted to oust Moten as its leader and — though he was not one of the instigators — installed Basie as its new leader.