JAM: February/March 2007 Issue: Folly Jazz News

by Doug Tatum

The Folly Theater once again has the great honor of presenting the Count Basie Orchestra on Saturday, February 3 . Although it has been over seventy years since the Basie Orchestra left its home base here in Kansas City , and Count Basie passed away in 1984, the band remains true to its swinging musical legacy under the skillful direction of trombonist Bill Hughes.

Young pianist Bill Basie, a New Jersey native from Red Bank, arrived in Kansas City in 1927 while working the national Theater Owners and Bookers Association (TOBA) vaudeville circuit. He briefly joined Walter Page's Blue Devils, then stayed on with the Benny Moten Orchestra. Upon Moten's untimely death, Basie went from pianist to bandleader and soon became known as “The Count.” In 1935, Kansas City 's legendary Reno Club was the setting for live radio broadcasts of the Count Basie Orchestra. Jazz impresario John Hammond heard one of these broadcasts while he was sitting in his car in Chicago . Hammond was so impressed that he arranged to bring the Basie Band to New York , and a Decca recording contract soon followed.

In 2004, upon the last occasion that we presented the Count Basie Orchestra, Hearne Christopher, writing in his column in the Kansas City Star , provided our community with an exposé about how the Folly was presenting the Count Basie Orchestra, but the truth was that Count Basie was deceased! The tone of the article was that the touring Basie Orchestra was somehow a phony, inauthentic “ghost” band. Well, for anyone who may have similar concerns about “truth in advertising,” I want to be perfectly clear—the Count Basie Orchestra is still touring, and Count Basie is still deceased.

In truth, the great musical legacy of the late Count Basie is alive and well in the current ensemble; in fact, this band could not be more authentic. Obviously, the personnel has changed over the years, but even today, approximately one fourth of the present band was hired by and worked under Bill Basie. As this band has toured continuously around the world, year by year, decade by decade, it has carried the same great “book” containing all the well-worn classic arrangements by notable writers that include Benny Carter, Ernie Wilkins, Sammy Nestico, Neil Hefti, et al. There is no lack of continuity or authenticity here. For anyone who has even a slight understanding of the music , it's all there in the sound and the swing . How else can I ‘splain it?

It's hard for me to believe, but if Miles Davis and John Coltrane were still living, they now would each be eighty years old. The Folly Jazz Series will pay tribute to these jazz masters with our presentation of an a ll-star Latin Jazz band co-led by trombonist Conrad Herwig and trumpeter Brian Lynch. This special concert will take place on Saturday, March 10, and is billed as “The Latin Side of Miles and Trane— An 80 th Birthday Celebration .” Both Conrad Herwig and Brian Lynch have performed within the Latin music genre for a long time, including extensive touring and recording with Eddie Palmieri. The balance of this multi-Grammy nominated septet is comprised of: Mario Rivera, bari sax and flute; Edsel Gomez, piano; Ruben Rodriguez, bass; Robby Ameen, drums; and Pedro Martinez, percussion. The group's three critically acclaimed CDs are Sketches of Spain: Y Mas (Half-Note), Que Viva Coltrane (Criss Cross), and Another Kind of Blue: The Latin Side of Miles Davis (Half Note). To learn more about this exciting band, I suggest you visit www.conradherwig.com.

My “JazzTalk” discussions with the artists will precede each concert at 7 p.m. S ingle tickets are priced $15–$30, and members of the Jazz Ambassadors receive a $3 discount. For more information, call the Folly Theater, 816-474-4444, or visit our Web site: www.follytheater.com.

Doug Tatum is the Executive Director of the Folly Theater