Lesson 7: The Duke and the Count

During the swing era of jazz, several musicians led notable orchestras, including Duke Ellington and Count Basie. These two individuals not only influenced the development of swing jazz, but they were charismatic figures who made jazz musicians more visible in mainstream society.

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) was a prolific composer, musician, and bandleader. During his lifetime, he wrote over 1,000 songs and his music has sometimes been called 'beyond category.' Ellington himself liked to call his music 'American music' rather than jazz. He learned to play the piano from his parents and soon began imitating the ragtime music that he heard in Washington, DC. He eventually moved to Harlem, where he joined an orchestra. When Ellington formed his own band, the band began playing regularly at first the Hollywood Club and then the Cotton Club. Like other musicians at the time, Ellington recorded music. As jazz evolved, Ellington stayed true to his roots, preferring to play the types of music that he was familiar with and accomplished in. In 1974, he died at the age of seventy-five.

Count Basie (1904-1984) was born in New Jersey and learned to play the piano from his mother. As a young man, Basie learned from jazz musicians in Harlem and toured around the country with several bands in the twenties. In 1929, he became the pianist for a band in Kansas City, Missouri, called the Bennie Moten Band. Eventually, Basie formed his own band, began recording, and relocated to Chicago and then New York. During the 1950s and 1960s, Basie played with some of the best musicians of the time, including Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, and Frank Sinatra. Basie performed at a high level for over fifty years, leaving a lasting impression on jazz. He died in 1984 at the age of seventy-nine.

Both Duke Ellington and Count Basie left a lasting legacy. Musical scholars regard Ellington as one of the foundations of American musical culture. He is perhaps the best jazz composer of all time and many of his works are music staples. Both Ellington and Basie brought jazz music into the mainstream, where it reached a wide range of individuals through radio, recordings, and performances.

Billie Holiday

Considered by many to be the best jazz singer in history, Billie Holiday's (1915-1959) voice spoke of deep emotion and hardship. Despite a relatively short career and a tragic life, she brought to jazz new timings and rhythms that would change the way jazz was sung. Several of the songs that she co-wrote have also become jazz standards and some of those that she sang, including 'Strange Fruit' have become iconic jazz songs.

Holiday's big break came in 1933. A jazz writer and producer heard her sing; he would say that she was the best singer he had ever heard. He arranged for Holiday to begin recording with Benny Goodman. In the time that followed, she recorded with a number of well-known jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington and Lester Young. In 1939, with the recording of 'Strange Fruit,' a song about racism and lynching, Holiday achieved greater attention. She continued to record and find popularity on the music charts.

Although Holiday was one of the highest paid performers at the time, her personal life was increasing problematic. Much of the money she earned went to pay for her heroin addiction. In 1947, she was arrested for drug possession. She was sentenced to a prison camp, but was released early for good behavior. Her popularity remained at a high level, although she was not able to perform anywhere that sold alcohol because of her conviction. By the 1950s, Holiday's recordings showed the effects of her drug abuse, drinking, and health issues, although it retained her classic sound. The recordings that she made during this time were as popular as her earlier work. She died in 1959 from liver and heart disease.