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Basie and John
Hammond enjoyed a reunion in the bandleader’s Carnegie
Hall dressing room before a July 2, 1982 performance with
Ella Fitzgerald for the Kool Jazz Festival. One reviewer said the band
had “a tremendous ensemble clout, and its hallmark,
the Count’s brilliantly distilled piano, is as delightful
as ever.”
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A portrait
of geniality, Count Basie bows toward his musicians during
a May 1983 appearance in Austin, Texas. As it turned out,
Catherine, his wife of 42 years, had died the week before.
News reports of her death carried Basie’s comment that
the best tonic was to get back to the business—and enduring
pleasure—of making music. Photograph by Tad Hershorn. |
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Newsday
coverage of Count Basie's funeral captures the sorrow and
joy as they celebrated the life of the great bandleader. |
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A funeral program
from the April 30, 1984 service depicts Basie in his later
years, which were as fulfilling for Basie as they were for
those who had followed his music through the decades. |
Count
Basie stalwart Freddie Green gave one of the eulogies
at his funeral held at Abyssinian Baptist Church in
Harlem on April 30, 1984. The historic church has been
the site of many services of jazz greats through the
years. Photograph by Nancy Miller Elliott. |
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Jo Jones, center,
makes his way to the funeral of the man who brought the drummer
to prominence in the 1930s as part of one of the greatest
rhythm sections in jazz history. Jones, who played intermittently
in later life, died the following year at the age of 73. Photograph
by Nancy Miller Elliott |
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Dizzy Gillespie
visits with other mourners on the steps of Abyssinian Baptist
Church following funeral services for Count Basie. Although
Basie and Gillespie had been friends for decades they only
recorded together for Pablo Records in the 1970s. Photograph
by Nancy Miller Elliott. |
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