August 21st, Wednesday | Count Basie

The date is August 21st, Wednesday, and today I’m coming to you from Portland, OR. 

Today is the birthday of Count Basie, African American bandleader, musician, and composer.

Count Basie, born William James Basie in 1904, was tutored by his mother on piano as a child. When his talent surpassed his mother, much like Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s story, his mother scraped money together to send him to private lessons. 

Never a big fan of school, Basie often picked up odd jobs at the local theater in exchange for free admission to shows. It was there where he was exposed to improv. Silent movies were accompanied by live music, often just a pianist.  Sometimes there was music written specifically for a film, but often, it was left up to the player or band to create a soundtrack on the spot. 

As a youngin’ Basie enjoyed playing the drums more than piano. But, Sonny Greer, a fellow musician in the area, outshone Basie as a drummer, and Basie returned to piano, where he could compete for work more successfully. 

After an incubation period in the jazz scene of Harlem in the 1920s, Basie moved to Kansas City. There he formed “Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm,” a precursor to the Count Basie Orchestra. A passion for beat, Count Basie and his Barons were known for their percussion and were asked to do recordings while touring through Chicago. 

Over his 60-year career, Count Basie successfully navigated musical trends: from jazz to jumping to swing. He drew crowds consistently, performing and leading into his 70s, until his death of pancreatic cancer at age 79.

Count Basie is in the Blues Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1974, and is widely considered Jazz Royalty. 

And today is the birthday of Menashe Kadishman, Israeli artist. 

Kadishman, born in British controlled Palestine in 1932, is remembered for his sculptures and colorful paintings of sheep. 

His obsession with sheep began when he was stationed as a soldier in Northern Israel, where he also worked part-time as a sheep herder. 

Before that Kadishman had already studied sculpture (and art more broadly) at the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv as a teen. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he traveled to London to attend St Martin’s School of Art and Slade School. 

Kadishman enjoyed a long career, becoming a notable personality in the Tel Aviv cultural community. His sculptures were notable for their apparent gravity-defying construction. Kadishman would use clear glass to support metal structures to achieve the effect. His art has been featured in cities around the world, including Tokyo, New York City, Venice, Toronto, London, Berlin, San Jose in Costa Rica, and of course Tel Aviv. 

Annabel Lee

Edgar Allen Poe

It was many and many a year ago, 

In a kingdom by the sea, 

That a maiden there lived whom you may know 

By the name of ANNABEL LEE; 

And this maiden she lived with no other thought 

Than to love and be loved by me. 

I was a child and she was a child, 

In this kingdom by the sea; 

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee; 

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven 

Coveted her and me. 

And this was the reason that, long ago, 

In this kingdom by the sea, 

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling 

My beautiful Annabel Lee; 

So that her highborn kinsman came 

And bore her away from me, 

To shut her up in a sepulchre 

In this kingdom by the sea. 

The angels, not half so happy in heaven, 

Went envying her and me- 

Yes! - that was the reason (as all men know, 

In this kingdom by the sea) 

That the wind came out of the cloud by night, 

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. 

But our love it was stronger by far than the love 

Of those who were older than we- 

Of many far wiser than we- 

And neither the angels in heaven above, 

Nor the demons down under the sea, 

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. 

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side 

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, 

In the sepulchre there by the sea, 

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Thank you for listening. I’m your host Virginia Combs, wishing you a good morning, a better day, and a lovely evening.