Once upon a time, American popular music was dominated by big bands, criss-crossing their way across the country doing battle in music halls; vying for the love of baying audiences wanting to dance. Larger than life characters, with aristocratic monikers like Duke and Count headed up these bands, and helped define and soundtrack the era.
The Count Basie Orchestra, the living embodiment of swing, provided the supremely distinctive sound and swing behind some of the greatest and most renowned singers of the modern age; we’re talking people like Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and not to mention Frank Sinatra.
Eighty years on from its inception, and thirty years since the passing of Count Basie, The Count Basie Orchestra is still going strong, and still includes a core group of musicians hired by Basie himself. Now under the direction of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, the band will be bringing their globe trotting 80th Anniversary tour for a run of dates across the country, starting May 13th in Newcastle and finishing up in Launceston on the 23rd May.
Ahead of the start of the tour we caught up with Orchestra director Scotty Barnhart to learn a little bit more about what audiences can expect from the tour and the legacy of Count Basie.
What can audiences expect from a Count Basie 80th Anniversary show?
The audiences can expect to hear the greatest jazz orchestra in the world playing 80 years of the best music of The Count Basie Orchestra. We will be playing such classics as “April In Paris”, “One ‘O Clock Jump”, “Lil’ Darlin'” and others, as well as new arrangements. They can also expect to enjoy the happy feeling we create when we play and they will surely leave with a smile on their faces and wanting more.
With a repertoire spanning eighty years how do you decide upon a setlist? And how changeable is the setlist from night to night?
I carry a list of the charts that are in our current travel book and I divide the set list into categories such as important hits and audience favorites, new arrangements, arrangements that feature the most important arrangers for Basie, such as Frank Foster, Neal Hefti, Quincy Jones, Thad Jones and Sammy Nestico, and I change the set every single time we play so that we never repeat the same exact sequence of music ever.
Lastly, I scan the set list to make sure everyone in the orchestra has a solo feature. If not, I go back and fix that to insure that they do. A lot of thought goes into a set list, but I am also aware that I have to remain flexible to remove or add something while we are in the middle of a set. It could be a request or time factor that can cause me to do that.
What do you feel sets the Count Basie Orchestra apart from the other Big Bands on the circuit?
What sets us apart is the same thing that has set this orchestra apart from all other for 80 years – the manner in which Mr. Basie developed his orchestra’s feel and sound, which is based on the sound of the blues, optimism and happiness, and making one want to dance. Then he added a more complex way of playing what we call “swing with precision”, which allowed his orchestra to play danceable music, even cerebrally danceable music, at any tempo. And of course, The Count Basie Orchestra has always demonstrated the widest range of dynamics. We can play softer than any other orchestra in history and also louder than any other.
These factors, coupled with Mr. Basie having some of the most influential soloists in jazz history such as Lester Young, Sweets Edison, Frank Foster, Sonny Payne, Snooky Young, Al Grey and many others, places us in a category all alone for doing what we do.
What do you see as being the Count Basie legacy?
Mr. Basie’s legacy is vast because he set standards in many areas musically that still stand today, but briefly, perhaps his most outstanding legacy is the fact that he created and maintained an orchestra that has surpassed him in death for over 31 years that still has musicians in it that he personally hired. And one that is still at the top of it’s game. This is unprecedented.
What do you see as the reason for the continuing appeal of Swing and Big Band music?
The continuing appeal and Swing and Big Band music is that it is communal, meaning it brings people together to have a good time and dance. It’s accessible for all ages and nationalities and it is a type of music that elevates the human spirit to one of happiness and perpetual optimism.
What was it that initially drew you to Jazz music?
The fact that I could tell it was related to the gospel music I was hearing in church while growing up. It’s subtle profundity also attracted me to it, especially after hearing Basie and then Miles Davis‘ Kind of Blue recording. It was immediately clear that it was a mature music and I liked that right away.
Who do you see as the inspirations for your own personal playing style?
Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Sweets Edison, Wynton Marsalis and a few others, but those are the main three or four.
Travelling with such a large group can’t be easy at times, how do you pass the time on tour?
I like to read, take photos, as photography is a serious hobby of mine and listen to a lot of classical music, soul music, and straight ahead jazz. I’m also learning to play chess on my iPad.
What’s next for you and the Count Basie Orchestra?
We will continue touring celebrating our 80th Anniversary Tour this year with stops all over the United States, then to Japan, Europe, and perhaps South America before the year is out. Most exciting is going to be the release of the very first Christmas recording in the history of CBO. We have special guests such as vocalist Johnny Mathis and pianist Ellis Marsalis, and it will be released on Concord Records this October. The tentative title is called A Swingin’ Basie Christmas…
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Count Basie Orchestra 80th Anniversary Tour – Australian Dates
Directed by Scotty Barnhart
Featuring special guest vocalist Carmen Bradford
13th May – Civic Theatre, Newcastle
14th May – Sydney Opera House
15th May – Concert Hall, Perth
16th May – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide
17th May – Canberra Theatre
19th May – Hamer Hall, Arts Centre, Melbourne
20th May – QPAC, Brisbane
22nd May – Tasman Hall, Wrest Point, Hobart
23rd May – Princess Theatre, Launceston
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