Editing Count Basie (section)

===New York City and the swing years===
When Basie took his orchestra to New York in 1937, they made the Woodside Hotel in Harlem their base (they often rehearsed in its basement).<ref name=nicholson>{{cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Stuart |date=2004 |title=Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz, Updated Edition |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=50–51 |isbn= 9781136788130 | oclc=884745086 |quote=Toward the end of 1937, Ella moved again, this time to the Woodside Hotel at 2424 Seventh Avenue at 142nd Street, to be close to Jo Jones, the drummer from the Count Basie band. The band had recently hit town and was playing the Roseland Ballroom, and most of its members were staying at the Woodside...}}</ref> Soon, they were booked at the [[Roseland Ballroom]] for the Christmas show. Basie recalled a review, which said something like, "We caught the great Count Basie band which is supposed to be so hot he was going to come in here and set the Roseland on fire. Well, the Roseland is still standing".<ref>Basie (1985), p. 184.</ref> Compared to the reigning band of [[Fletcher Henderson]], Basie's band lacked polish and presentation.<ref>Dance, 1980, p. 107.</ref>

The producer John Hammond continued to advise and encourage the band, and they soon came up with some adjustments, including softer playing, more solos, and more standards. They paced themselves to save their hottest numbers for later in the show, to give the audience a chance to warm up.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 188.</ref> His first official recordings for [[Decca Records|Decca]] followed, under contract to agent MCA, including "[[Pennies from Heaven (song)|Pennies from Heaven]]" and "[[Honeysuckle Rose (song)|Honeysuckle Rose]]".<ref>Basie (1985), p. 186.</ref>

Hammond introduced Basie to [[Billie Holiday]], whom he invited to sing with the band. (Holiday did not record with Basie, as she had her own record contract and preferred working with small combos).<ref>Basie (1985), p. 200.</ref> The band's first appearance at the Apollo Theater followed, with the vocalists Holiday and [[Jimmy Rushing]] getting the most attention.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 190.</ref> Durham returned to help with arranging and composing, but for the most part, the orchestra worked out its numbers in rehearsal, with Basie guiding the proceedings. There were often no musical notations made. Once the musicians found what they liked, they usually were able to repeat it using their "head arrangements" and [[collective memory]].<ref>Basie (1985), p. 199.</ref>

Next, Basie played at the [[Savoy Ballroom|Savoy]], which was noted more for [[Lindy Hop|lindy-hopping]], while the Roseland was a place for [[fox-trot]]s and [[conga]]s.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 202.</ref> In early 1938, the [[Savoy Ballroom|Savoy]] was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with [[Chick Webb]]'s group. Basie had Holiday, and Webb countered with the singer [[Ella Fitzgerald]]. As ''[[Metronome magazine|Metronome]]'' magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's"; the article described the evening:

<blockquote>Throughout the fight, which never let down in its intensity during the whole fray, Chick took the aggressive, with the Count playing along easily and, on the whole, more musically scientifically. Undismayed by Chick's forceful drum beating, which sent the audience into shouts of encouragement and appreciation and casual beads of perspiration to drop from Chick's brow onto the brass cymbals, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 208.</ref></blockquote>

The publicity over the big band battle, before and after, gave the Basie band a boost and wider recognition. Soon after, [[Benny Goodman]] recorded their signature "[[One O'Clock Jump]]" with his band.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 207.</ref>

A few months later, Holiday left for [[Artie Shaw]]'s band. Hammond introduced [[Helen Humes]], whom Basie hired; she stayed with Basie for four years.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 211.</ref> When [[Eddie Durham]] left for [[Glenn Miller]]'s orchestra, he was replaced by [[Dicky Wells]]. Basie's 14-man band began playing at the [[Famous Door]], a mid-town nightspot with a [[CBS]] network feed and [[air conditioning]], which Hammond was said to have bought the club in return for their booking Basie steadily throughout the summer of 1938. Their fame took a huge leap.<ref>Basie (1985), pp. 217–218.</ref> Adding to their play book, Basie received arrangements from [[Jimmy Mundy]] (who had also worked with Benny Goodman and [[Earl Hines]]), particularly for "Cherokee", "Easy Does It", and "Super Chief".<ref>Basie (1985), p. 229.</ref> In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] dates. A few months later, Basie quit MCA and signed with the [[William Morris]] Agency, who got them better fees.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 247.</ref>

On February 19, 1940, Count Basie and his Orchestra opened a four-week engagement at [[Southland (jazz venue)|Southland]] in Boston, and they broadcast over the radio on February 20.<ref name="Vail2003">{{cite book|last=Vail|first=Ken|title=Count Basie: Swingin' the Blues, 1936-1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWZjiRBQJBkC&pg=PA36|date=January 1, 2003|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-4882-5|page=36}}</ref>
On the West Coast, in 1942 the band did a spot in ''Reveille With Beverly'', a musical film starring [[Ann Miller]], and a "Command Performance" for [[Armed Forces Radio]], with Hollywood stars [[Clark Gable]], [[Bette Davis]], [[Carmen Miranda]], [[Jerry Colonna (entertainer)|Jerry Colonna]], and the singer [[Dinah Shore]].<ref>Basie (1985), p. 260.</ref> Other minor movie spots followed, including ''Choo Choo Swing'', ''Crazy House'', ''Top Man'', ''Stage Door Canteen'', and ''Hit Parade of 1943''.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 262.</ref> They also continued to record for OKeh Records and Columbia Records.<ref>Basie (1985), p. 274.</ref> The war years caused a lot of members turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as [[swing music|swing]] began to fade, the effects of the [[1942–44 musicians' strike|musicians' strikes of 1942–44]] and 1948 began to be felt, and the public's taste grew for [[pop music|singers]].

Basie occasionally lost some key soloists. However, throughout the 1940s, he maintained a big band that possessed an infectious rhythmic beat, an enthusiastic team spirit, and a long list of inspired and talented jazz soloists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swingmusic.net/Count_Basie.html|title=THE BIOGRAPHY OF COUNT BASIE|first=Jeff|last=Parker|website=Swingmusic.net|access-date=May 2, 2017|archive-date=April 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417114707/https://www.swingmusic.net/Count_Basie.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>