The Count (and The Duke) are Jazz Royalty

William James “Count” Basie [1904-1984] was first a drummer, then a pianist, organist, bandleader, composer and legend. Born in Red Bank, the teenaged Basie sowed his musical oats in Asbury Park playing The Hong Kong Inn until he was fired. He gigged up and down the many jazz clubs in Newark, switching to piano at 15 because he knew he wasn’t as good a drummer as his Red Bank buddy Sonny Greer who went on to keep the beat in the Ellington Orchestra while Basie picked up some extra cash hustling pool. At 16, Basie went to Harlem to learn from ragtimers Willie “The Lion” Smith and James P. Johnson. He was a quick study and, at 17, hit the Vaudeville Circuit as a solo piano man. It wasn’t until he relocated to Kansas City at 19 to play with Bennie Moten that the seeds of his legend were first planted.

But it was in Chicago where legendary record man John Hamnmond first heard him and signed him to Columbia Records. Hammond [1910-1987] is the man who also signed Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen.

T2 Music has released Royalty: The Music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie by the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra. It’s a magnificent tribute to the two composers, complete with alto sax (2), tenor sax (2), clarinet, baritone sax, trumpet (6), trombone (3), tambourine, piano (2), guitar, bass, drums (2) and vocals (2). The Count Basie Orchestra recorded the 1949 Memphis Slim hit “Everyday I Have The Blues” with Joe Williams in 1955. Here, Kurt Elling sings it.