Jazz is one of the many styles of music, prominent today. On of the most notable contributors to the Jazz style is Count Basie, a now world renowned artist of his time. Count Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 21, 1904. His path to music started early, as his mother (Lillian Childs Basie) began to teach him how to play the piano at a young age. His father (Harvey Lee Basie) in addition to being a groundskeeper, also played the mellophone, and as such, Basie grew up in a musically inclined household. As a teenager, Basie would help his parents out in any way he could with their work, he would also go work at the Palace Theatre so that he would not have to pay a fee to get in. (He had the time to work after dropping out of school …show more content…
Some of Count Basie’s most famous pieces include: “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”, “April in Paris”, and of course, their signature piece, “One O’Clock Jump.” In addition to releasing many many albums, Basie and his band also starred in many films. Meanwhile, Basie himself also starred in films such as “Hit Parade of 1943”, “Cinderfella”, and “Blazing Saddles”. Throughout his career, he and his band were also very innovative, creating many new styles of rhythms that would eventually be essentially be key to advancements in jazz. Throughout his career, Basie worked with many other famous people including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Nat Pierce and Tony Bennett. Aside from his Band, Basie also has a family life, although his family life is not often talked about in the summaries of his life. His first marriage to Vivian Lee Winn was more of a dud marriage, as he divorced her soon after they married for unknown reasons. However, his second marriage was far more