Bill Basie studied music with his mother as a child and played piano in early childhood. He picked up the basics of early ragtime from some of the great Harlem pianists and studied organ informally ...

This is the story of William James “Count” Basie, one of the most famous jazz musicians who ever lived. Born into an African American family of musicians in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1904, Basie was ...

RED BANK - Growing up, William J. Basie would spend his days here watching vaudeville at the Palace Theatre, where he eventually filled in playing tunes on the piano to entertain audiences between ...