Count
Basie
Born August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, NJ
Died April 26, 1984, in Hollywood, FL
“I’ve always played happy music,” William “Count” Basie once said. “Music that people can tap their feet to... That’s what I intend to keep on playing.” He kept that pledge for nearly fifty years...
Duke Ellington
Born April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C.
Died May 24, 1974, in New York City
“If jazz means anything,” Edward Kennedy Ellington once said, “it is freedom of expression.” No one in the history of jazz expressed himself more freely -- or with more variety or swing or sophistication...
Ella
Fitzgerald
Born April 25, 1917, in Newport News, VA
Died June 15, 1996, in Beverly Hills, CA
“If the musicians like what I do,” Ella Fitzgerald once said, “then I feel I’m really singing.” She was really singing all her life...
Benny Goodman
Born May 30, 1909, in Chicago, IL
Died June 13, 1986, in New York City
“Nothing less than perfection would do,” Benny Goodman once said of his long band-leading career. “I lived that music, and expected everybody else to live it, too.” His exacting standards paid off...
Billie Holiday
Born April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, PA
Died July 17, 1959, in New York City
“Me and my old voice,” Billie Holiday once told an accompanist. “It just goes up a little and comes down a little. It’s not legit...”
