Count Basie

Count Basie was a jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer from Red Bank, New Jersey, born in 1904. He formed the Count Basie Orchestra in 1935 and led it for nearly fifty years, helping define big band swing with a rhythm-forward sound and his own spare, minimalist piano style. His orchestra became one of the most influential ensembles in jazz history, and he remained a vital recording artist well into the 1980s.