Nick Bollinger talks to Scotty Barnhart, musical director of the Count Basie Orchestra ahead of their New Zealand tour.
There are a number of reasons why the Count Basie Orchestra is regarded as the greatest swing band of all time. For a start, there is that rhythm section, humming like a big beautiful engine, all the parts moving together in perfect time. There’s the way the horn riffs ride that rhythm, and then there are the legendary soloists who have laid their voices on those foundations: singers like Billie Holiday, trumpeters Buck Clayton, Harry Sweets Edison, Thad Jones and Clark Terry, and saxophonist Lester Young, among others. Ahead of their 80th Anniversary tour dates in New Zealand, Nick Bollinger talks to the Count Basie orchestra’s musical director Scotty Barnhart.
Songs Featured: Jumpin’ At The Woodside, Moten Swing, Lester Leaps In, Shiny Stockings, One O’Clock Jump,
