The full orchestra
Sixteen pieces and a singer: four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones and the rhythm section, for concert halls, festivals and big rooms.
Read more (The full orchestra)
Demo · Count Basie Orchestra
Examples
Each theme has a site dedicated to the musician it is named after.
Pages
What a visitor can open on this site.
Theme
The world the site is drawn in. The content stays the same.
Day or night
The ground under everything: it changes the site the most.
Style
A colour and a typography made for each other.
Colour
In place of the style's accent, in every theme. Deeper by day, softer by night.
The theme's own
Cheek to CheekGeorgiaSummertimeApril in ParisMoonglowBluesetteSkylarkStardustMistyLullabyTenderlyEmbraceableHot HouseSalt PeanutsMantecaAnthropologyGiant StepsEpistrophyKo-KoA TrainBlue RondoGroovin' HighBirdlandRuby My DearSunny SideCaravanSugar HillBourbon StreetTobacco RoadTenor MadnessAutumn LeavesHoneysuckle RoseMoanin'St. Louis BluesMahogany HallHarlem NocturneSidewinderSpring Is HereGreen ChimneysGreen OnionsSweet BasilWillowJade VisionsGreen Dolphin StreetVermontThe PeacocksDolphin DanceCool Struttin'Blue in GreenBlue BossaFlamenco SketchesBlue SkiesAll BluesBlues for AliceSo WhatKind of BlueBlue TrainBlue LouRound MidnightBlue MonkIvorySepia PanoramaBlack and TanBlack CoffeeSmokeStormy WeatherMood IndigoMidnight SunNocturneMoody's MoodLush LifeDark Eyes
Hero
How the page opens.
Skip to content
DownBeatOn the New Testament band, 1950s John HammondOn the band’s first session, Chicago, October 1936 Geoffrey SmithBBC Music Magazine, 3 December 2024 MetronomeBasie’s Brilliant Band Conquers Chick’s, the Savoy, 1938
Count Basie Orchestra
Big band from Kansas City, swinging since 1935.
- Big band
- Swing
- Piano
- Brass
- Saxophones
- Rhythm section
New York, USA
Records
On Screen
Kind Words
Basie has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this.
The only perfect, completely perfect recording session I’ve ever had anything to do with.
The Basie band took much of its character from the subtle way the Count’s pithy, elliptical attack framed his shouting brass and saxes.
Undismayed by Chick’s forceful drum beating, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance.
Collaborations
The Kansas City Seven
The small group from inside the band: piano, guitar, bass and drums with trumpet, trombone and tenor. For clubs, jazz bars and smaller stages.
Read more (The Kansas City Seven)
An evening with a singer
The orchestra behind a singer, the way it backed Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes and Joe Williams: two sets of blues and standards.
Read more (An evening with a singer)
Book the band
The full orchestra, the small group, or the band with a singer, for concert halls, festivals, clubs and events. Tell us the date, the place and the size of the room; we answer within two days.