 In the 1930s and 1940s, Count Basie became one of the singular names of American musical civilization. There was no mistaking Basie or what the name stood for: a cool, shining zephyr of a rhythm section and a coterie of once-in-a-lifetime solo voices fanning out from its core. But if the original Basie formulation of the 1930s seemed gloriously original and spontaneous, it was also perilously vulnerable and mortal; dependent, as it was, on men with minds of their own. There are five permanent members in the current Basie Band who played under Count Basie's personal leadership, starting with trombonist Bill Hughes, who joined in 1956, and proceeding through John Williams, Butch Miles, Kenny Hing and Clarence Banks. They are part of the musical DNA that is replicating the Basie spirit for present and future members who never played under Basie himself. Under Grover Mitchell, the band has returned to its hallmarks: swing, precision, and above all, a focus on the ensemble. The current aggregation has its share of great soloists, but Mitchell has stressed the totality of sound and the interplay among musicians. Says Mitchell, "A real good musician will reduce the way he plays in order to make a great group sound. Not everybody can handle that." Today, the Count Basie Orchestra continues to build new fans for itself the old fashioned way by hitting the road, meeting its audiences and playing its music, night after night. Night in and night out, they let audiences experience firsthand that miraculous combination of power and grace that only exists when 19 jazz musicians stand shoulder to shoulder and call themselves a big band.
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