What Makes It Great? Count Basie

Across a 50-year career, Count Basie led one of the most important big bands of the 20th century. From the early days of 1930s Kansas City and Chicago Swing into later success in the 1980s, his sound evolved from spontaneous head arrangements, worked out by improvisation and memory, to the sophisticated charts of his later years. Join Rob Kapilow and the Cal State Fullerton Jazz Band to explore the music and extraordinary career of one of Jazz’s most enduring icons through hits including “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” “Lil’ Darlin,” and “April in Paris.”