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Performance Review: The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra at New Trier Jazz Fest 2019
The genre I will be reviewing in this paper is always gripping jazz. Jazz was born around
the early 1900s in New Orleans from a mixture of cultures such as French, Caribbean, and
White. Jazz bands are commonly comprised of instruments like the bass, guitar, piano, trumpet,
trombone, many variations of the saxophone, and drums. During the nineteenth century, New
Orleans became a safer place for blacks during slavery. Many people of African descent would
gather in Congo Square to play drums and other percussion instruments as it was the only legal
place to do so. In the earlier days, jazz instruments such as the clarinet, cornet/trumpet,
trombone, tube, and drumline were the standard for jazz bands. The Count Basie Orchestra is the
perfect example of jazz music based on the history of jazz as well as the history of The Count
Basie Orchestra itself.
The Count Basie Orchestra is the best representation of the jazz genre because of its long
rich history. William "Count" Basie, the creator of The Count Basie Orchestra, began his journey
to become a musical pioneer as a young man playing the piano and organ in silent movies. While
touring in 1927 he began exploring his love for the Blues which lead him to meet his future
bandmates. In the early 1950s, The Count Basie Orchestra was created pumping out sounds of
the Blues and swing. The Count Basie Orchestra has been an inspiration to many greats such as
my personal favorite Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, and many more. The Count Basie Orchestra
can keep the memory and heart of William "Count" Basie alive for 38 years as this is the 88th
year The Count Basie Orchestra was formed.
The performance I will be reviewing is from the New Trier Jazz Fest in 2019. The New
Trier Jazz Fest has been held annually at New Trier High School for the past 41 years. The
location hosts many jazz bands creating an atmosphere made for this specific performance. The
way The Count Basie Orchestra members were placed was with Pianist Glen Pearson on stage
right, Guitarist Will Matthews to the left of him, Bassist Trevor Ware and Drummer Robert
Boone on risers behind him, Trumpet players Marcus Carroll, Andre Rice, Frank Green, and
Sean Edmonds on the top riser, Trombone players Alvin Walker, Mark Williams, Dave Kind,
and Clarence Banks on the middle riser, and Saxophonists Doug Miller, David Glosser, Sean
Wallace, Doug Lawrence, and Josh Lee on the lower riser with William "Scotty" Barnhart as the
Director as well as a Trumpet player.
The first song I will be reviewing is called "Wind Machine" by Sammy Nestico. This
piece starts a very quick and upbeat swing with piano, bass, guitar, and drums quickly
introducing the rest of the orchestra. The tenor soloist is playing faster than I could imagine,
giving the title "Wind Machine" a run for its money. The drummer had a solo that was very clean
and quickly played. This piece kept me consistently engaged speedily. The next piece that caught
my ear was "Who, Me?" by Frank Foster which is also very much swing. The trumpets caught
my ear, but my attention was quickly grabbed by the piano giving me the mental visual of Glen
Pearson's fingers dancing on the keys. Scotty Barnhart's solo on the trumpet gave me an instant
"stank face" because it was aggressively grabbing hold of my attention. What made this piece a
favorite is what sounds as if the orchestra goes down to a double piano to a quick double forte
which was fun to hear.
The performance of The Count Basie Orchestra was very enjoyable to watch and listen
to. The next time this group performs I will fill a seat to show my support for music and history.
This group is an important part of history that is kept alive and thriving by the members and
management group while keeping William "Count" Basie's dream at its core.
Works Cited
“The Count Basie Orchestra.” The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, www.thecountbasieorchestra.com/