Count Basie

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commercial decline. Eventually, the changed economic realities of touring with a band affected Basie, and in 1950 he was forced to dissolve his large ensemble. For a time he toured with a small group of six to nine players, but by 1952, he had reassembled his big band. This time, written arrangements were normal, and the band had a different sound and style than it had in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the 1950s the band featured new soloists. Where as the earlier band emphasized the sound of the soloists over that of the ensemble, the later band favored the ensemble sound of a well-rehearsed, tightly controlled group. From 1954 to 1961 singer Joe Williams performed with the band. Among his best-known recordings with Basie are “Every Day I Have the Blues” and “In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)” .
Basie continued to lead his band in the 1970s and 1980s, although he sometimes did so from a wheelchair in his later years. Basie and his orchestra won numerous Grammy Awards. In 1981 Basie ...

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