The living embodiment of ’30s and ’40s swing, one of the most exuberant and irresistible sounds that ever shook the western world, the legendary Count Basie Orchestra will perform a strictly limited run of concert hall performances in October.
Directed by veteran drummer Dennis Mackrel, hired by the late Count himself, the 18-piece Count Basie Orchestra features a peerless array of instrumentalists with combined credentials that have topped the upper echelons of the international jazz world for decades.
From Billie Holiday to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra to Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan to Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra has provided the supremely distinctive sound and swing behind some of the greatest singers of the modern age.
Current members include a solid core of musicians hired by Basie, including saxophonist John Williams, trombonist Clarence Banksand bassist James Leary, as well as former members of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton’s ensembles.
Special guest vocalist is the remarkable Carmen Bradford, who has performed with artists including Tony Bennett, James Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra and George Benson. Count Basie heard Bradford sing in the early eighties and immediately hired her as vocalist for his Orchestra, a role she has continued to this day.
The tradition of excellence has continued beyond the Count’s passing in 1984 to make the Orchestra a permanent fixture in Down Beat and Jazz Times polls throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The latest of a total 17 Grammy Awards was bestowed as recently as their Count Plays Duke album of ’99.
Simply put, the Count Basie Orchestra is the real deal, a who’s who of swing spanning generations to maintain the flame of one of the world’s best-loved sounds. For Australian audiences, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, a truly elite jazz ensemble staged in some of our most prestigious venues. Don’t miss these historic concerts.
TOUR DATES–
MELBOURNE• 10 October 2012 • Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
TIX: 1300 182 183 / www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
BRISBANE • 11 October 2012 • Concert Hall, QPAC
TIX: 136 246 / www.qpac.com.au
SYDNEY• 13 October 2012 • Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
TIX: 02 9250 7777 / www.sydneyoperahouse.com or Ticketmaster 136 100 / www.ticketmaster.com.au
PERTH• 14 October 2012 • Perth Concert Hall
TIX: 08 9484 1133 / www.bocsticketing.com.au
