William James "
Count"
Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American
jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. His mother taught him to play the piano and he started performing in his teens. Dropping out of school, he learned to operate lights for vaudeville and to improvise accompaniment for silent films at a local movie theater in his home town of
Red Bank, New Jersey. By 16 he increasingly played jazz piano at parties, resorts and other venues. In 1924 he went to
Harlem, where his performing career expanded; he toured with groups to the major jazz cities of Chicago, St. Louis and
Kansas City. In 1929 he joined
Bennie Moten's band in Kansas City, and played with them until Moten's death in 1935.