William "Count" Basie (see Count Basie) (1904 - 1984) was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, and bandleader. He created a swing band in the early 1930s that was a favorite of many dancers and of vocalists including Billie Holiday. The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era. The band survived the late-forties decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald in the fifties and sixties.

Read more about Count Basie and His Orchestra on Last.fm.


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