13 March 2018 - 0 Comments
The living embodiment of swing, one of the
most elegant and irresistible sounds that ever shook the western world, The Legendary Count Basie Orchestrahave announced they will play Auckland on Monday 30 July at ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre.
Directed by veteran trumpeter Scotty
Barnhart, the 18-piece Count Basie Orchestra features a
peerless array of instrumentalists with combined credentials that have topped
the upper echelons of the international jazz world for decades.
From Billie Holiday to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra to Nat King Cole, Sarah
Vaughan to Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra has provided the
supremely distinctive sound and swing behind some of the greatest singers of
the modern age.
Current members still include trombonist Clarence
Banks, hired all those years ago by Basie himself, as well as
former members of Stan Kenton’s, Benny Goodman’s and Lionel Hampton's
ensembles.
Special guest vocalist is the remarkable Carmen
Bradford, who has performed with artists including Tony
Bennett, James Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Sinatra and George Benson. Count
Basie heard Bradford sing in the early eighties and immediately hired her as
vocalist for his Orchestra, a role she has continued in to this day.
A special feature this tour will be the Orchestra’s tribute to the great Ella Fitzgerald and
the immortal Louis
Armstrong. The Basie Band had a strong history with both
artists and their reverence for them will shine through in this homage to these
two greats of jazz.
The tradition of excellence has continued beyond the Count's passing in 1984 to
make the Orchestra a permanent fixture in Down Beat and Jazz Times polls
throughout the '80s and '90s. The latest of a total 18 Grammy Awards was
bestowed as recently as their Count
Plays Duke album of '99.
Simply put, the Count Basie Orchestra is the real deal, a who’s who of the best
swing players the world has to offer. For New Zealand audiences, this tour is a
very special occasion and a rare chance to see a truly elite jazz ensemble
staged in some of our most prestigious venues. Don't miss these historic
concerts.
7:30pm Monday 30 July, ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland
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