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Swing, jazz band entertains crowd at Farthing |
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Monday, 28 July 2008 |
by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
Intern News Reporter
The Count Basie Orchestra performed in Farthing Auditorium Wednesday night to a large crowd of mostly young and old couples alike.
William “Count” Basie started the “World Famous” Count Basie Orchestra in the 1930s as a swing group. The band has continued through the decades, changing up members, but still continuing the classic sound from the 30s.
“I’ve been playing with the World Famous Count Basie Orchestra since 1999,” said Tony Suggs, the pianist. “We’ve played here a few times before, and it’s always a fun show.”
The band is made up of 19 musicians, featuring one pianist, one bass player, one guitar player and one drummer.
The horns section fills up the rest of the band, providing the big sound associated with swing and jazz.
Because Count Basie himself died in 1984, trombonist Bill Hughes now
leads the band, directing it in the same fashion Basie would have.
The first song erupted suddenly in a very upbeat and danceable tune
that allowed many of the musicians the chance for solos. A young couple
from the audience got up to dance but ushers informed them it was not
allowed.
The second song, “The Heats On”, was played in a similar fashion, with
an impressively fast bass beat and featured many saxophone solos.
The rest of the songs followed in a similar fashion until a slower sad
song began to play, with a female singer cooing softly about love lost.
The song brought images of pouring rain in downtown Chicago in the
1920s.
At the end of each song, Hughes would give a small talk about what the
name of the next song was, and small insights about how the song came
about.
Members of the audience were not disappointed by the performance whatsoever.
“The band has a lot of spunk, it really looks like they are having fun
playing together,” said Cory B. Schneider, a senior Appropriate
Technology major. “I’ve heard a bit of their stuff before, but this is
my first time seeing them.”
The band also commented on the vibe of the show.
“Its going really smooth tonight, we’re feeling it, the audience is feeling it, its all going great,” said Suggs.
The Count Basie Orchestra will release a new studio album by October 2009 according to the band’s Web site.
 The Count Basie Orchestra performs Wednesday evening in Farthing Auditorium as apart of An Appalachian Summer Festival series. Photo by James Fay
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