Count Basie Alumni

Everything about the swinging music we love to DJ

Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy

Locked
Message
Author
User avatar
Jerry_Jelinek
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Cleveland, Oh
Contact:

Count Basie Alumni

#1 Post by Jerry_Jelinek » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:15 am

Hi all,

I did a Benny Goodman alumni show a few weeks ago and got tremendous response. So I thought I would do something like this on a regular basis.

Next up is Count Basie Alumni!!! :) Here is a partial list, divided by instruments. I'm trying to limit this to personel that were members of the regular band at one time. Not feature performers like Ella and Sassy who recorded, but didn't really tour with the band.

Here goes:
Guitarists wrote: Freddie Green
Alto Sax wrote: Earl Warren
Tab Smith
Marshal Royal
Tenor Sax wrote: Illinois Jacquet
Lester Young
Herschel Evans
Paul Gonsalves
Buddy Tate
Charlile Rouse
Chu Berry
Don Byas
Ernie Wilkins
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Paul Quinichette
Frank Foster
Frank Wess
Eric Dixon
Baritone Sax wrote: Serge Chaloff
Clarinet Exclusively wrote: Buddy DeFranco
Trumpet wrote: Snooky Young
Joe Newman
Shad Collins
Ed Lewis
Emmett Berry
Buck Clayton
Harry "Sweets" Edison
Clark Terry
Thad Jones
Emmett Berry
Marshal Royal
Lin Biviano
Byron Stripling
Trombone wrote: J.J. Johnson
Benny Morton
Vic Dickenson
Dickie Wells
Eddie Durhman
Al Grey
Curtis Fuller
Bass wrote: Walter Page
Drums wrote: Jo Jones
Shadow Wilson
Gus Johnson
Sonny Payne
Butch Miles
Dennis Mackrel
Female Vocalist wrote: Bille Holiday
Helen Humes
Male Vocalist wrote: Jimmy Rushing
Joe Williams
Tony Bennett (?)
Others you can think of?

User avatar
CafeSavoy
Posts: 1138
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 6:25 pm
Location: Mobtown
Contact:

#2 Post by CafeSavoy » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:57 am

You can check his biography which lists all the band personnel by era.
I'm not sure whether they toured with him but other vocalists included Irene Reid, O.C. Smith, Bill Johnson, Al Hibbeler, Richard Boone, Mary Stallings, Bill Caffey, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, and Big Joe Turner.

Others who recorded with Basie include Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O'Day, Dinah Washington, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Bill Henderson, Mills Brothers, The Deep River Boys, Zoot Sims, Oscar Peterson, Keter Betts, Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Billy Eckstine, Teresa Brewer, Quincy Jones, and Jackie Wilson.

I think Dennis Rowland played trombone for Basie for a bit too; i'm not sure if he ever also sang.

User avatar
Jerry_Jelinek
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Cleveland, Oh
Contact:

#3 Post by Jerry_Jelinek » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:35 pm

CafeSavoy wrote:.....I think Dennis Rowland played trombone for Basie for a bit too; i'm not sure if he ever also sang......
Thanks Rayned. I had forgotten Dennis. I know Dennis sang with Basie in the late 1960s or so. I seem to recall Dennis telling me he sang the Nat Adderly famous "Work Song" with Basie. I didn't realize Dennis also played trombone.

With the giants like Goodman and Basie, you can play a weeks worth of music from people who toured with these bands. I'm trying to limit my focus to the most significant members of each instrument. Especially those who were stars outside of the Basie band. The one exception being Freddy Green.

Thanks.

User avatar
main_stem
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 9:01 am
Location: Seattle, WA

#4 Post by main_stem » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:38 pm

Bass:

Buddy Catlet
John Clayton
"We called it music."
— Eddie Condon

julius
Posts: 818
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2003 11:30 am
Location: los angeles

#5 Post by julius » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:19 pm

Didn't Louie Bellson play drums for Basie on the Live At the Sands album?

Shorty Dave
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 8:23 am
Location: Gotham
Contact:

#6 Post by Shorty Dave » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:54 pm

Benny Powell, trombone!

Eddie Jones - bass; Wendell Culley - trumpet; Henry Coker - trombone; Jack Washington - sax

Also, I think Claude "Fiddler" Williams was the guitarist before Freddie

Locked