6. Count Basie's Cleveland Connections
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6. Count Basie's Cleveland Connections illiam Basie, pianist and bandleader, was not a In his autobiography, Good Morning Blues, Basie Clevelander, but he certainly perfonned recalled he married the girl from Cleveland in 1943 in Wfrequently in Cleveland and hired a number of Seattle. Their honeymoon was a series ofone-night band Clevelanders to play in his swinging band. Basie' s appearances. strongest tie to Cleveland is frequently forgotten. He The Basie band was working in New York when Katy married a girl from Cleveland and their only child was was about to have a baby. She returned to Cleveland and born here. stayed with her parents. Katy and Bill Basie's only child, Diane Basie, was born in Cleveland. He rushed to Catherine Morgan Basie Cleveland to be with his wife and Catherine Morgan left Cleveland daughter. at the age of 16 in 1931 to become a Later, when they rejoined Basie in dancer. She joined a very popular New York, he said he had vivid vaudeville act, the Whitman Sisters. memories of seeing Katy getting off She was one of three girls in the the plane from Cleveland carrying dance company who called their baby. He said, "It was a special themselves "The Snake Hips thrill bringing my family home from Queens." When they appeared at the the airport that day, Old Base, his Lafayette Theatre in New York City, wife and daughter." there was a jazz band from Kansas They moved into an apartment City on the same bill. The young building near New York' s Central dancer from Cleveland noticed the Park. Fonner Clevelander Earle young piano player with the Bennie Warren and his wife lived in the same Moten band. But they didn 't meet. building and became Diane' s By 1935, she was working as a fan godparents. The baby was baptized dancer at the Club Harlem and again by Rev. Adam Clayton Powell a few ran into that piano player. This time years before he became a he poked his head into her dressing congressman. room. She screamed, "Hey, As Basie' s band was setting the somebody corne here! That piano Count Basie international standard for swinging player with Bennie Moten' s band, I jazz, the fonner dancer from caught him trying to peep behind my fans! " Cleveland was handling many ofCount's personal affairs. He quickly retreated and she didn't see him again until While he was on the road, she bought their new home in a year later. By this time, the piano player had become the Jamaica section of Queens. In the 1950s, he opened the leader of the band and was playing at the Famous a club called "Count Basie's" at 7th Avenue and 132nd Door in New York City. The dancer from Cleveland was Street. It was losing money until Katy personally took working across the street at Leon and Eddie's nightclub. over and turned it into a profItable operation. When After her show, she slipped into the Famous Door to Basie's father died, Count was playing in England and listen to the band. Occasionally the piano player would Katy made all the arrangements. In his autobiography wave, smile, or just poke his finger toward her. But they Count said, "She really knew how to get things done." still had never spoken a word to each other. In 1960, she was active in the political campaign of Later that summer in Atlantic City, she saw him again. John Kennedy and took part in one ofthe inaugural balls. He just pointed his fmger at her like he was going to Cleveland native Catherine Morgan Basie died in shoot her and winked. This time, they fmally chatted. 1983. Basie died a year later. After talking with her most ofthe afternoon, he again Several key members ofthe Basie band had strong ties pointed his fmger and said, "One ofthese days I'm going to Cleveland. to make you my wife!" She shook her head as she left and said to herself, "That bandleader is crazy!" Earle Warren But when she got back to New York, she returned to A native of Springfield, Ohio, Earle Warren came to the Famous Door to hear the band and see the leader. Cleveland in 1933 at the age of 19 to play with the seven A few months later in Detroit, two of her friends piece Marion Sears Orchestra at Cedar Gardens at East finally fonnally introduced her to William "Count" Basie. 97th and Cedar. She smiled. He pointed his fmger at her and said, "Bam!" Warren left the Cleveland band in 1937 to join the It was almost ten years after their paths had fIrst crossed. band of Sears' brother, AI, in Cincinnati. That's where Count Basie's Cleveland Connections 51 Count Basie saxophonist Herschel Evans One night when Armstrong was playing first heard him. On Evans' in Columbus, young Edison couldn't afford recommendation, Basie hired Warren in a ticket but he managed to sneak in to hear April of 1937, just months after the his hero. He was hooked. saxophonist had been playing in Cleveland. He never took a formal music lesson, but His starting salary with Basie was $6.25 a taught himself to play the trumpet and night. began playing with several Columbus area Warren led the Basie sax section that jazz bands. included Evans and Lester Young. With When he was 18 (in 1933), Edison came musicians like Young, Buck Clayton and to Cleveland to play with a band led by Harry "Sweets" Edison in the band, Warren Chester Clark. Bassist Red Callender, also did not solo often. He said, "I got all the a member ofthat band, said, "Edison's style bridges, eight bars in the middle of was fully developed even at the age of 18 Earle Warren everything." But Basie said Warren made when he was playing in Cleveland." an important contribution as the leader of Edison also toured with the Cleveland the reed section. Warren also composed for the band. based Jeter-Pillars territory band. Soon, he sat in with With Buster Harding, a Clevelander, who had also played Benny Moten and then joined a highly-regarded territory in the Marion Sears band, Warren wrote "9:20 Special." band led by Alphonso Trent. Warren also sang ballads with the Basie band, including At the age of22 (in 1937), Edison went to New York ''You Betcha My Life." Earle and his wife, Clara, and played for about six months with the Lucky Millinder became close friends of Bill and Katy Basie. Except for band. While he was not a good reader, he learned quickly . a hiatus in the 1940s, Warren remained with the orchestra and managed to play the written arrangements with the from 1937 unti11950 when Basie was forced to disband band. his orchestra. Then in September of 1937, Edison joined the Count Warren later became the business manager for such Basie Orchestra where he was a key member for 13 years. performers as Johnny Otis and Eddie Heywood. In the "When I joined the Basie band," Edison told an late 1950s, he directed a number ofshows including stage interviewer for DownBeat magazine, "we didn't have any shows for disc jockey Alan Freed who had gone to New written scores. Everything was head arrangements." York from Cleveland. In the 1970s Warren formed a Replacing Karl George, Edison joined Buck Clayton and group ofBasie band alumni to play for colleges and jazz Ed Lewis in the Basie trumpet section. He admitted he groups. In the 1980s, he spent much of his time in had trouble at first playing the head arrangements after Europe playing mostly Basie material. playing written arrangements with the Millinder and Trent bands. After a few weeks, he wanted to quit, but Harry "Sweets" Edison changed his mind when Basie told him, "You're playing Almost forgotten is the fact that Harry "Sweets" good, you sound good." Edison, another key member ofthe Basie Orchestra, also Before long, Edison was an accepted member of the began his jazz career in Cleveland. Basie band. Another member of the band, saxophonist Six months after he was born in 1915 in Columbus, Lester Young, after hearing Edison's sweet trumpet style, Edison' s parents broke up began calling Edison and he was raised by his "Sweets." mother. The boy soon began Other members of that listening to the 1920s Basie band included records of blues singer Herschel Evans, Walter Bessie Smith and trumpeter Page, Jo Jones, Dicky Wells, Louis Armstrong. He was Chu Berry, singer Jimmy fascinated by the early Rushing, and saxophonist Armstrong records and asked Earle Warren. his mother to buy him a Edison called playing trumpet. Money was tight in with the Basie Orchestra the household, but when "the highlight of my life, an Harry was 12, she bought experience I wouldn't trade him his first trumpet for 25 for the world. There wasn't cents down and payments for much money," said Edison, the full price of $7. Harry Edison "and it was rough traveling 52 Cleveland Jazz History from one-nighter to one-nighter, sometimes as much as one was Horace Adams. We called him 'Head.' Then, 500 miles a night, but it was a lot offun." there was Smitty, a guitar player. And Bus Harding was Edison was also a frequent prankster. Once he the piano player and arranger. James Peck, the drummer. secretly loosened the strings of Walter Page' s bass. He was out of Pittsburgh. And Francis Williams the Another time, he raided Basie' s stash of chicken and trumpet player.