Count Basie

The Jazz Itineraries series, a new format based on Ken Vail's successful Jazz Diaries, charts the careers of famous jazz musicians, listing club and concert appearances with details of recording sessions and movie appearances. Copiously illustrated with contemporary photographs, newspaper extracts, record and performance reviews, ads and posters, the series provides fascinating insight into the lives of the greatest jazz musicians of our times. No.3 in the series, Count Basie: Swingin' The Blues 1936?1950, chronicles Basie's life from the Kansas City years, discovery by John Hammond, triumph in New York with the floating swing of the All-American rhythm section and tenor saxist Lester Young, through to the eventual demise of the swingingest of big bands in January 1950.