April in Paris - Count Basie and his Orchestra (1965)

[@snapfinger1]

The logistics of keeping a band like this together are mind blowing.

[@fernmann7]

True, but if you’re a musician, who better to work for than the great CB?

[@snapfinger1]

@@fernmann7 Duke Ellington ?

[@jeaninep.donaldson112]

My favorite part of the Blazing Saddles movie❤😂

[@bblegacy]

...beginning with working 320+ gigs a year to get a sense of what a REAL band is and what it's like to play in one that's not just a bunch of freelancers that get together a few times a month, if that often.

[@michaelward7612]

My thriteen year old is watching this. He is learning about The Count and The Duke.

[@nicklh186]

Michael Ward amazing! 😄

[@ClassicRocker61]

thank you.....that's the answer I was looking for

[@pamtebelman2321]

Don't forget the rest of the royal family: the King of Swing (Benny Goodman) and the Queen of Jazz (Ella Fitzgerald)!

[@paradoxicalcanons]

I hope your now sixteen year old still loves it!

[@leftcoaster67]

Good you are teaching royalty. :)

[@martinplatt5928]

This was incredible in 1965............certainly the best big band ever...................................

[@blakepereira5583]

@Ed Miller Count Basie and Stan Kenton were the best of the big bands

[@marymichael1211]

And Benny Goodman.

[@antiquedreams.6104]

We owe so much to jazz musicians from the great big bands era. They completely redefined music! Every single genre and artist ever since has been heavily influenced by jazz's charm. The orchestrated arrangements, the piano solos, even the most famous and used chord progression of all time was originally used in a jazz song. I will never get over how talented and inspiring these people were.

[@dwightpowell6673]

They are all Americans, what else can they be be magnificent. Considering the times they were living in.

[@daveandcarolinepower4437]

Man you are SO right!!! I thank god for the gift of hearing whenever I listen to the fabulous Count Basie Orchestra!!

[@gabrieldjatienza6971]

Just 20 seconds of Count Basie in a hilarious scene in Blazing Saddles leading to thunderous applause and laughter in that comedy masterpiece!

[@doctorhoffman4550]

Every kid should get a course in school just to be introduced to this music. Consider it a history lesson. Mandatory !!!!!!

[@billdix2606]

I'm 86 years old and I constantly think of all (now generations) will never know what I have and do know. A course in school, eh? What kind of conspiracy would that be? A Rap attack?

[@mrs.stinson1092]

I am an elementary music teacher, and I love to introduce my students to the music of our shared American heritage. Count Basie, with an August birthday, is the first musician to be introduced to my students this year, with many more to come.

[@johnhancock8107]

Music should never be mandatory. I know when I was younger I wouldn't have been interested. But I finally got here and it's great!

[@robertricketts5467]

My parents,born in the late 1920's were much older than the parents of my childhood contemporaries,so I grew up in the 1970's listening to music that they liked and developed an appreciation for things like big Band,jazz,easy listening and classical etc. Moreover, I learned simply to love good music played or sung well.Thanks Mum and Dad...

[@bruhdo3892]

My jazz band is performing this for our concert 😼

[@Thelonious2Monk]

There was and never will be any orchestra that swings like that of the Great Count (actually King) Basie. This piece is so engraved in my brain that I am practically made out of it!!!

[@zolemica]

Best scene in Blazing Saddles--Count Basie in the desert playing April in Paris...

[@FurrySergal]

I've seen that movie half a hundred times yet it wasn't until just now I realised why that ending always seemed _so_ familiar..

[@mitchprent8830]

Jeannie E. Hess I loved that scene when I was younger but watching it after knowing who Basie is gives it a whole new comedic effect

[@albertopa58]

I love that scene. Cleavon in the Gucci suede Cowboy suit. High giving the Count.

[@Uncultured_Barbarian465]

Great movie. Watching the movie back in the 70's on TV, I asked my Dad "Who is that guy playing piano with a hat like The Skipper?" He smiled and told me about Count Basie. Basie was such a talent, and had a great big band.

[@sambadojazz]

Won't ever forget the first time I saw the movie. As soon as his orchestra started playing, I'm digging it and thinking what a great soundtrack. Within seconds, the camera pans to the man AND his orchestra, right there in the desert. I lost it. :D

[@Regajde]

Drummer with some serious skills. Love it.

[@emillinke5397]

Count Basie is for me the the very best big band

[@tiger7892]

I was in jazz band in highschool and we loved playing this because we got to yell "One more time!" 😂 Such awesome memories ❤

[@ishisan2006]

How elegant! How beautiful! Now, THAT is music. Thanks Count. Love ya!

[@sylviebertran8201]

All of these men were so talented with the wonderful Count Basie at the helm Does it get any better than this ?

[@chuckiedimes1466]

Nope

[@HelloooThere]

How did Basie make them better?

[@fernmann7]

Nope.

[@GuyMoyer-t8c]

I am especially impressed with these men and their musicianship when I remember the spirit of the era back in the fifties and sixties for African-Americans in the United States. For people too often treated like second-class citizens, these men reached impressive skill and should be doubly appreciated for that.

[@MegaLJ3]

The best band ever! In the 1960's I played opposite Basie in Memphis when he had Harold Jones on drums.

[@LordWyatt]

Nice 👌

[@DeanJuvenal]

Thanks to the PUBLICALLY owned, advert free, BBC for preserving this great piece of musical history.

[@onlyme112]

You mean, thanks to "all the British taxpayers who paid to preserve it" and "all the Google customers who pay the royalties to show it here". Nothing is ever really "free".

[@aaamediamail5552]

@@onlyme112 WRONG!

[@rohankurani4974]

@@aaamediamail5552 ok, explain how he’s wrong?

[@aaamediamail5552]

@@rohankurani4974 "advert free" was that which I wrote, Drongo.

[@aaamediamail5552]

@@rohankurani4974 Who appointed YOU to 'speak' on behalf of @onlyme?

[@geraldjohnson848]

Aug.21: Happy birthday jazz pianist William "Count" Basie (1904-1984) God bless...Thanks for the post. Blessings. (I still picture the Count playing out on prairie in "Blazing Saddles." Classic

[@lindaperkins4521]

me too --------favorite moments of all time!!!

[@StevenC32]

Count Basie was so talented, he gave the world some truly amazing music. My Father grew up listening to this kind of music. I grew up during the 70s and did not fully appreciate the type of music from my Father's generation, but now that I am older and wizer, I can fully appreciate this type of music. My only regret is that I wish that I could have enjoyed this music while my father was still alive and shared my appreciation for the music of his generation.

[@NiallMor]

I know the feeling. My parents were part of “the Greatest Generation” that went through the Great Depression and World War Two. They grew up on the likes of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller. When I was younger I thought their music was for squares, dorks, and old fogeys. After they passed away, I listened to their music again and was amazed at what I had missed. Now when I listen to music from this era I remember them and wish I could have shared it with them.

[@thoof2001]

Man, Rufus 'Speedy' Jones just absolutely smokes on the Slingerlands . . . what a monster!

[@davetrimble7494]

thoof2001 ray anthoy

[@djangorheinhardt]

I think Rufus Jones had a short but tragic career.I think his son got in trouble and was jailed under, what is alleged, trumped up charges.He was a great drummer though.

[@raywarman]

I grew up with this sound, being born in 1931 and still love it. I try more modern stuff but always return. This music will live forever.

[@melissalewis6246]

I grew up in the 60-70s and my parents, well my dad, would blast this at home. I listen to it when I miss him.

[@Chefjoe63]

Incredible!! I had the pleasure of seeing him about 3 or 4 yrs before he died here in Kansas City. One of the most memorable concerts I have ever been too. At his age he was still flawless and didn't miss a beat. Great concert ,great memory.

[@Fred-kz5xh]

I did, too, at the Uptown theater I believe. A fantastic concert. We had stage side seats and during a break I told Count Basie how I loved his music. He very simply and modestly said "Thank you".

[@j.haywire5841]

Boys and girls it don’t get any better than this. Still gives me chills when I hear this arrangement. Thanks to my dad I first heard Mister Basie in the late 50’s early 60’s, live in Baltimore. Will forever remember the sound of the band God Bless you Sir and all those that made up his band.

[@jamesoliver8582]

I carried my fathers casket in to this 2 months ago. It's a great piece of music and I love the thought of him up there with a pint hanging around with the greats ❤

[@pepperwilliams4428]

Probably the #1 swinging band ever! Love this arrangement with that great 'sax' section of players: Marshall Royal, Bobby Plater, Eric Dixon, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Charlie Fowlkes! 6 'thumbs down' people thought that they were here for Kayne West

[@Darrell1019]

Hear, hear!

[@tedturner1753]

P. Ipi

[@dondonatelli5379]

The BEST of all time..

[@joshuaperry1067]

Best band in history

[@brewsjazzclub]

Simply masterful!

[@bkrider19]

Beautiful Spanish flavor on that trumpet solo opening.

[@matteowatteo1296]

Listen to the record. Trumpeter does a funky take on "Pop Goes the Weasel" during his solo. Ridiculously great!!!!

[@goldenbaby3608]

Love you, Count. You will forever be a class act!!

[@williammacleod1569]

This rock fan loves this performance above all others. Just great Ella & The Count rule!!

[@johnwhitehead3360]

Masterpiece Thank You

[@jamesemerymusic8016]

Overwhelming Grace, Power and Cool. Thank you, Count!!!

[@jayaramankn9016]

Late Count Basie was a reputed jazz pianist of yeater years and his orchestra was a legendry one. My Grad advisor & mentor late prof Dr Standish Mallory, a reputed earth scientist of Earth Sci Dept of U of, Seattle WA told me on a few occasions that he was a pianist in Basie's band in the early stages. I always like him appearing with MS. Ella Fitzgerald, a legendry jazz & pop singer. Thanks for posting this number; It is a brief trip down the memory lane.

[@gilsondevliegerferreira7275]

Melhor orquestra de todos os tempos, divino e maravilhosa, simplesmente exuberante e fenomenal, todos seus componentes eram virtuosos.

[@tarheelblue9245]

Absolute perfection!

[@gwynenglishnielsen8596]

If I had my choice as a singer, I would go back to the 1940s and sing with a band like Basie's. Simply incredible music!

[@chachaman4980]

What a Master! … What a band !!!

[@stafoonja]

This number by the Count opens up my book of memories to 1955, those pages are great memories.This song keeps them alive as this is my favorite of all time.

[@leonardpolito2598]

My all time favorite since 1955

[@stafoonja]

A great video showing the Count at his best and it's now a classic.

[@leonardpolito2598]

Glad to hear others share the same feelings.

[@codaues]

Leonard Polito Saw Birdland All Stars 1955 in St Louis Sonny Payne and Joe Williams recently added to the band Sarah sang with Basie. Wow it was Divine!

[@reggiejay1773]

TRULY A CLASSIC!!!!!!!!! I played this tune in the stage band quite a few times(drums).

[@MCham52]

Just does not get any better than this!!

[@bruceunwin2218]

Dare I say it, but: "One more time, please, gentlemen?" ..,

[@theodorewarthen6061]

Dare, dare

[@alphonsedalessio7118]

Love the kid from red bank

[@samh3029]

And “one more, once”

[@alunjohndavies5655]

"One more once !"

[@retired42002vz]

It’s one of my rotating ringtones along with Misty by Richard “Groove” Holmes. Been listening to him since childhood (early 50s & 60s) thanks to my late dad. ❤

[@Submarine777]

Simply wonderful - a complete master piece.

[@0SailorStar0]

Got here due GTA IV :'D Awesome, I love jazz.

[@yourshadow6018]

Same, i loved the JNR station it had and i was ironically just now playing it and i just looked up the jazz songs. 😂

[@victoriacyunczyk]

This song seems like it would go with footage of streamlined passenger trains in the 1940s. I love it.

[@barneshomestead1240]

It'd have to have its own special box car & adjoining dance car too.

[@ohsnapitspat6270]

Count Basie was a gem in jazz music.

[@garychapman4294]

I love April in Paris :-)

[@jamescastillo2405]

Can't believe this made me cry it's so beautiful pure class.😢

[@dayseoliveira2208]

Listenning in 2024 .Fantastic!

[@joseantoniolopesdasilva6914]

Um músico e maestro fantástico, com uma magnífica orquestra!!!

[@Greenjeeper999]

Smooooth! No one on this plant today that can groove a melody like the Count!

[@daniellenaerts5750]

Farmers market barbeque release was my introduction to Count Basie.! in the 70ts Since then my collection has been increasing. just so enjoyable to listen to.

[@kitcatz8348]

I got to see the Count roll on to the stage in his golf cart, do his thing. Standing ovation, I was so proud he looked like me…

[@jerryferko8309]

WOW .........INCREDIBLE ............THANKS MATTHEW ......

[@jarrodlacy9856]

Stunningly beautiful.

[@bkrider19]

The magnetic intonation and articulation of Harry Sweets Edison on trumpet draws everybody in.

[@janwintz8372]

I used to get ready for work in 1965+ listening to this FABULOUS, JUMPIN' SOUND!!! My FAVORITE FROM COUNT BASIE!!! (Maybe someone will post the "One More Once" version!) What a jumpin' way to start the day way back then!!! KBCA in Los Angeles (105 FM) used to play it at getting-ready-for-work time! LOVE IT!!!!

[@ronflatter1235]

I saw the Count and the big orchestra in Chico, Calif., not long before he passed. Still one of the five concert experiences of my life.

[@terrytorres5026]

Outstanding. Big brass of the 60s.

[@debbieheilner9657]

This is amazing.

[@gregdark5203]

That drummer is amazing!!

[@scottburgle2169]

My stereo can’t play this loud enough!

[@Nigelrathbone1]

God that's georgeous

[@georgeparreno]

awesome!!!!!! thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much!

[@chal3t]

Wow!!! Nice!!!

[@daglowcruz1607]

I miss Count Basie

[@heruilin]

That staccato Bolero opening riff of the trumpet solo always blows me totally away ..

[@LibuttiG]

BRILLIANT,LIKE BRASSSTARS ON THE BLACK AND WHITE SUNS DRUMMING AROUND

[@drummer66y]

I was lucky to see this cat on my 21st birthday, 1971. They wheeled him in, set him on his throne, he moved me and my people. A highlight of American music.

[@jeffreybass5479]

I suspect that you meant 1981.

[@CarlSanchious]

I love be bop jazz. But never gave much listening to big band swing. I'm familiar with count Basie because my uncle Reggie listened to him when he painted his caricature paintings. In fact he ended up painting a cool black silver gold and white portrait of the legend gliding his fingers across the keys. What a classy fella.

[@Rob_Kates]

Classic jazz at its best, wow.

[@DeanJuvenal]

Jazz??

[@Rob_Kates]

@@DeanJuvenal Yes, this would qualify as jazz.

[@dwightpowell6673]

All black band ..... magnificent!!!!!!!!!

[@carlmonico]

WOW ! As always a class act!

[@merylfox6071]

An incredible mixture of brass and fury!

[@noreenjackson6590]

Great Sweets Edison trumpet solo. R.I.P. Basie Alums.

[@tomculver3837]

I don't think that is Harry Edison at the feature trumpet solo.

[@tomlusty8376]

My all-time greatest.....

[@wallybell3255]

Just, WOW !

[@JohnMHill-oi6rb]

Eric Dixon is a Canadian from Halifax, N. S., I played with him with his friend and neighbour, "Bucky" Adams. Great fun! John M. Hill,author.

[@madbebopper]

Greatest big band of them all .... for me! Nothing beats the Count, Bill Basie from Red Bank, NJ. I'm not a fan of Rufus "Speedy" Jones, although he could sure play. I really dug Jo Jones and Gus Johnson the best , then Sonny Payne and loved Harold Jones, too. I was too young to see those guys but I saw Basie in 1978 at the Belmont Raceway in NY with Tony Bennett guest vocalist. Greg Fields did a terrific job after Butch Miles left. Quiet as it's kept, Buddy Rich did an unbelievable job driving that band in 1944 filling in for Papa Jo and Basie loved the way Buddy played that band.

[@betodrums2110]

Awesome!.

[@charlesliles2966]

That is the BEST rendition of this tune I'VE EVER HEARD. Thanks very much for posting it.

[@lennty1913]

I freaking love this song

[@METALITHrevetments]

The Basie Band.....the Band that SWINGS!!!

[@fusejockey]

So smooth & incredible

[@jerryboynton4780]

Truer works were never spoken!

[@axxissww11]

love that drummer! Shorti

[@thomassoue2332]

Thank ypu.

[@Lolabelle59]

Thank you for posting. I was born in the wrong era.

[@karenc2192]

Fabulous

[@rickbraden4272]

When music was great!

[@michaelscott7462]

The only Big Band which can make a grown man weep!

[@marstondavis]

When I hear this, I think of men in tuxedos and women in floor length sequined gowns, drinking cocktails. It's all about smooth class.

[@cbs2don]

I made sure I enjoyed the Basie Orchestra at the Disneyland Big Band nights in the 60's.

[@wattheheck6010]

Perfection

[@corazonbeso]

This is my favorite jazz tune of all time besides 'In The Mood'. :D

[@muiro]

You should hear Artistry in Rhythm by Stan Kenton

[@GibbleFlarskin]

I found out who was in Paris!!!!

[@cannabis1490]

Timeless!!!

[@TropicalLatitude]

It's very difficult to keep a big band like that in sync with precise rhythms. The Basie band were masters at that. Of course, they played gigs all week.

[@vitoralbanodasilva2830]

Fidelis, simplesmente Fidelis!!!

[@alfredoremus4409]

La más grande big band en la historia del jazz, todo el swing del estilo Kansas City, Count Basie un referente absoluto que a dado de mamar jazz a generaciones enteras!

[@raimycamacho9565]

¿Quién es el trompetista?

[@edc3743]

Hey, where's "One more Once!". When I first heard this song in the mid-1950s it was on stations playing Bill Haley and Elvis and the Platters. That's HOW GREAT BASIE WAS. Those same "top 40" stations went on to play "Everyday I have the Blues" and "Goin' to Chicago" as well.