COUNT BASIE Swingin' the Blues, 1941 HOT big band swing jazz 

I'll never forget when I was playing this in the house my grandma(who can barely remember what she said 10 mins ago) started talking about people, places and things I had never heard her talk about before. It was like music just unlocked her memory or something. It was wild.

This music is 74 years old...and still so Young and living ! I adore his style. Happy to have met Count Basie TWICE in Brussels, with ELLA ! Unforgattable !

I know the 40s was a rough time (the war etc)...but damn they knew how to make some great music back then

Im thankful my Grandmother introduced me to this music

And remember, a bunch of years later it was the same Count Basie Orchestra that played in the middle of a desert in the movie 'Blazing Saddles'!!!

Check out those horn players using hats as mutes. Solid improvisation right down to the instrumentation! Apropos to that statement, I say hats off to Count Basie and his Orchestra.

I'm a long time trained trumpet player, and that guy has talent! Same goes with the wind players, as I can see talent when it plays itself. Basie knows how to pick them!

I love how Jones on drums does not move his body at all while playing. And with that permanent smile he looks like a puppet playing those drums... XD

Today I have a Jazz Band performance and these tunes really make me excited. This the kind of music my Jazz program performs and I'm so grateful to be playing such good pieces of music.

Papa Jo Jones continues to amaze and thrill. He just sits there smiling and popping his wrists, but what comes out is drum work of the most exalted order.

The more I hear this, the more amazing this band sounds. Basie is a genius of swing and how to set tempos, how to accompany the band and how to get the cats to play like there was never going to be a tomorrow. "Sweets" shows just how much beauty and swing he can fit into a short chorus. Don Byas had a huge and gorgeous sound and his sense of rhythm is so great and he uses his trademark interval jumps but playing them with such ease which gives us the impression it was easy......but trust me, it's not that easy! I guess it was for Don Carlos Wesley Byas, the one and only. I always felt that the Basie Band was the most powerful and swinging big band of them all.

This is, odds on, my favorite big band. I've lived through swing years and the Count played swing piano better than anyone, he treated it as a rhythm instrument

I'm 19 and I've been loving swing since I was 13 or 14. I'm a hugeee fan of of jazz music.

I was lucky that my dad was playing this stuff when I was a kid in the 70s. Still listening.

I love how the Count plays the first four notes of Byas's solo along with Byas, super. And Jo Jones is the man!!! He makes it look soooooo easy and he's so relaxed. And you can't top his smile, can you?

I have goosebumps come when I listen to this music! The entire body of plays, dancing soul, blood system boils under such wonderful music!

They're so locked in,it's hard to find a full big band with that kind of togetherness nowadays

Breathtaking. Words can't convey the brilliance of this band. Made my day seeing it!

there is NO orchestra, no big band, no swing band, no one and no organization, that is tighter, and swings with such perfection, as the Count Basic Orchestra.

Sounds really good. I like this person's music. This one should be glorified throughout music history.

These were real musicians and like a master chef, they cooked up some beats that were finger licking good.

THIS. SWINGS. SO DAMN. HARD.

Count always had top talent. I saw his drummer play wild while keeping two rows of sticks in the air - amazing.

That solo by Papa Jo Jones (drummer) at the end was tight - superb snare drum work.

I feel like I am watching Tom & Jerry when I listen to this.

I was in 1941 1 year old / Young, and 4 years later i listened to Count, Duke, Benny etc. , today i am still a honest fan

Im 13 and i love swing jazz way more that todays pop! Your not the only one!!!!!!!!

My sympathies, dcentral; I'm a 50-something trombonist who spent about two years touring with ROOMFUL OF BLUES; that's a band which defied the economic odds for many years and brought to many modern audiences (beginning in 1970) some of the best jump blues since the original stuff in the '40's. They're still together, but the economy is such that fielding a band of that size (10 when I was in it, 7 now) is nearly impossible.

I’m 22 years old and I’m loving this ara of music ❤️

I wish with all my heart I was born in this time so i could be blown away in person. Their aren't many people who enjoy music like this anymore and it's sad

what an era!

As a caucasian, and having grown up at the time of this amazing talent, it sickened me the treatment given to these geniuses because of their color...I think it was more hatred and envy for a people better then themselves with talent they could NEVER come close to. AND having been around for the likes of "Strange Fruit" I cried and prayed over man's inhumanity to his fellow man!

By the way, if you like this music, you HAVE to see the 1986 movie starring Dexter Gordon called "Round Midnight". I think it is on youtube, although I don't know if it's complete or missing parts. Search for "Round Midnight part 1" to get started.

C'est la musique ! La grande ! Tout vient de là... Les plus grands solistes, les plus grands improvisateurs... Et en plus ce bordel... c'est splendide !

Makes you feel like a million bucks.

NO band could swing like Basie's---IMHO Count Basie is the real "King of Swing."

60 demented people who don't appreciate this crazy big band swing music.

Pure Heaven....amazing talent and collaborative musicianship!!

The Epitome of SWING and BLUES - Thank You

GRACIAS You Tube por tan lindo regalo!! 10/10/2015

@dcentral You're not the only one. I'm 24, grew up in the city and never really gave into the mainstream music. Don't like pop, hip-hop, rap, etc but I love hard rock, metal, and swing jazz!

I didn't recognize everybody - but that's Jo Jones on drums, Count on piano, Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, Buck Clayton on trumpet, Dicky Wells on trombone, Earl Warren on alto - and I believe that's Don Byas taking the tenor saxophone solos. (He quotes Lester Young's solo on "Swingin' the Blues".)

It's Buck Clayton on trumpet later on, at "Swingin' The Blues". Notice the ever smiling 'Papa' Jo Jones on drums. Wonderful!

I'm 15 as well, and love big band and swing jazz too, and pretty much anything from the 30's- 40's like the Andrews Sisters and others, and my mom always says I was born in the wrong era!

My prayers that one day a similar clip will include a tenor solo by the best president we’ve had. And it wasn’t Bill. Great clip. Ty

Thanks for posting this, though. You Tube has allowed those of us who love Jazz to get into the ol' time machine and travel back through the years for a front-row seat at endless historic concerts by all the greats.

@dcentral hey im 15 and i love jazz and soul music!!! i wish we could get all those artist back that would be nice♥

Glad you enjoyed. It's awesome how many videos from the swing era have made it to youtube.

I would never have seen this without the Internet. It is wonderful I can catch up on all those great bands from the late 30s and early 40s. Life could not be better

@dcentral When I was in my 20's, I too thought I was the only 20-something who loved this music. Boy, was I wrong! I think music like this is timeless and will always have folks like us toe-tapping long after the folks who made the music are gone.

Keep fighting the good fight! I always appreciate it when I'm at a concert and there's even just ONE guy in the band really pushing.

This film came out the year my stepdad was born. Seventy-seven years later, it's still great.

I'm 23 and I'm from Argentina, and this rules! History of the best music.

@usefulmusic - LUCKY!!! I was born in the wrong era.. but DID get to hear Cab, and got his autograph, during one of his last performances, less than a year before he died. Sure wish I could've heard more of the greats of The Era Of Style, in person...

My dad played Big Bands & Swing music...he played Marching Band Music, too; 76 Trombones, etc. LOL He gave my diverse music tastes/collection.

Great vid. The RU-vid audience amazes me with their knowledge. This is a decade before my birth and I'm knowleable about the sixties and seventies, but not to the extent of the watching audience. Keep up the great videos and keep passing on the knowledge!

Basie slams, jams n lays it n the cut...my dad's favorite band

Wow thanks! - I knew I was saving those old VHS'es for some reason; some stuff just hasn't been re-released to DVD yet - maybe someday I'll find time to shoot video of the 78 rpm jukebox; there's some smokin hot records I'd love to post including some pretty rare stuff...

I'm 28, it's the year 2017 and this music it's still awesome.

Such excellent tenor and trumpet solos... And lol at the expert use of the hat mute

I love to see that over two million have viewed this video. There is hope that this music will continue.

look at the drummer at 2:54 I love how his head stays perfectly still and he keeps smiling the same. Looks so natural to him. I love basie.

Probably the best music ever played ... '40's up to 6-'s than a little in the 80's.. In my opinion today's music is going NOWHERE...

Excelente som! bassie é imortal... e dá saudades viu..... saudades de uma coisa que eu não vivi mas que eu eu amo muito!

REMEMBERING WILLIAM "COUNT" BASIE (AUGUST 21, 1904 - APRIL 26, 2964) [08/21/2018]

I heard Don Byas in 1946 on the French Riviera - but I was too young to appreciate him. His tone and approach are obviously Hawkins-ish but, on his extended solos in small groups, you can hear original and quite complex lines.

really wanted to thank you for this list of tracks...can't fault a single one of em. made a playlist on my account if anyone wants to listen to them consecutively. :) cheers again sir

wow, thx for the vid that1940sguy! this music is just so great! notice i said is, not was, because its so good that its still around! the crappy rap and pop of today won't last decades like big band/swing/jazz has. im 15, so my generation doesnt appreciate this music for what it is. im also a drummer, and i love playing swing. ive always loved this kind of music, but i havent seen many videos. youve got me hooked tho. keep it up!

Great Basie footage! Man could that band swing. Every current horn player should view this video to "freshen up" that old time swing phrasing, that is sometimes lost today. Thanks for sharing. JT.

Fantastic listening! This band outswung all the others

I like this kind of jazz. I hate dancing, but I'd dance to this.

I have such a soft spot for swing jazz! It's the perfect way to get you moving!

Here's a comment I put on here 8 years ago... 1st part of this is good, 2nd is AMAZING! A few notes. At 2:09 the TB solo seems cut short. At 2:29 was 1st part of TP solo cut when scene changed? At 2:39 three TP stand to join Clayton. All hold horns with both hands. At 2:41 three TP on left are standing and using derbies. TP on right stays seated, not playing. At 2:50 TP on right stands to solo. At 2:52 he sits to end solo but solo is not heard. I'm not one of Count Basie's biggest fans but here's the exception that proves the rule. Swinging the blues by Pierre Allier was recorded in Paris around the same time and it's quite different with a blown bass rather than an upright one as here.

Was für eine Blues Legende.Einfach Klasse.

you're a god amongst men for all of these recommendations

I'm glad this is still out there xD its hard to come by awesome swing jazz nowadays.

@that1940sguy I also like Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington and many big bands, but I really adore Mr. Miller. I think I was born in a wrong era, why I was born in 1989? *sigh lol thanks for sharing a beautiful music from the greatest era! -Edward

They look happy. I'm all smiles 😊. This music makes the day better 😂.

growing up listening to swing and boogie woogie still luv it

Nobody would ever play such wonderful music again. It has just gone forever.

Basie was actually in Walter Page's band in the late '20's. They both ended up in the Benny Moten Orchestra until Moten's death in 1936, then Basie formed his own band.

This is so absolutely exquisite!

It's like a slice of heaven. Imagine what the big band giants have in store for us.

The show itself is what makes the music!. Everyone looks like they are having "fun at work".

that tenor sax doe

NGO...Never Gets Old. Period

@thiskidgotmoves - Hi, glad you liked the video. I'm not sure if I understand your question, but the genre of both of these songs is Big Band Swing. The first one is medium tempo, and the second one is fast tempo.

This is a big favor! Thank you very much! Really, thank you very much!

Real musical talent and skills!!!

1st part of this is good, 2nd is AMAZING! A few notes. At 2:09 the TB solo seems cut short. At 2:29 was 1st part of TP solo cut when scene changed? At 2:39 three TP stand to join Clayton. All hold horns with both hands. At 2:41 three TP on left are standing and using derbies. TP on right stays seated, not playing. At 2:50 TP on right stands to solo. At 2:52 he sits to end solo but solo is not heard.

Great performance...Greetings from OK-Dreamband. CD "Clarinet-Dreams" is available for download (iTunes, amazon).

The comments section is home to semantics, elitists, and all people who love labeling things as "technically" correct, or people who are specific or subjective to a genre. Who fucking cares? Music is music. It changes us in different ways and whether or not people are aware to that, doesn't matter. It is all subjective. There is no such thing as the perfect music or movie or whatever the fuck they are talking about. If people like it, let them enjoy it. I like listening to what most would refer to as a "metal", but what does that even mean? I just like listening to it because I'm cynical and it pertains to my interests and beliefs... so what? People claiming that this is the genre that started this and that... it doesn't fucking matter. What matters is that people enjoy it regardless of what other sub genre it may have started or belongs to. Who fucking cares? Aside from the dip shits that argue over the contents of whether something sounds good to a particular human's subjective brain or not doesn't matter. If it makes you feel good, who cares what other people think about where it came from or what it will be like it 50 fucking years or what it sounded like 50 years ago. Drink whiskey, or whatever is enjoyable to your palate at the time and relax. Not everyone was listening to Count Basie when they were born or growing up, so I would like to see how many people would say that they listened to the same type of music they're listening to now as they were 1...2...3...4...5...6...7... decades ago. That's like me saying, "You don't like acidic components for cutting the richness of something like charcuterie? This is a classic french dish! It is all about balance, fundamentals, technique, and where things come from! You are eating it wrong!" That doesn't make any sense. It is subjective to each and everyone's palate.

Count Basie's Big Band; absolutely classic, and so amazing! It helps that I love swing the most, lol. Thanks for putting this up; the only thing better would be watching them live, and that isn't giong to happen, lol

I defy anyone to swing like that today. Jo Jones was playing from the heart. I could watch this clip a hundred times.

@Friendoffreedom Love ROOMFUL OF BLUES; sad about the economic difficulties. That's cool that you played with them.

Oh joy , what nice music.

beastin it up with his hat. i wish i was alive during these times. just to be able to hear great music like this.

This is THE BAND! Nuff said.

Breathtaking. The real king of swing

When you are as good as they are, it IS effortless.