Count Basie Birthplace — Red Bank, New Jersey

William James "Count" Basie was born on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey, into a working-class family. He studied piano informally and as a young man absorbed the stride piano tradition in Harlem before heading to Kansas City, Missouri, where the loose, blues-drenched, riff-driven style of Kansas City jazz suited his musical sensibility perfectly. He formed his own band there in 1935, and by 1937 had relocated to New York, where a recording contract and radio broadcasts made the Count Basie Orchestra one of the most celebrated big bands in the world.

Basie's genius was curatorial and rhythmic: his orchestras were engines of swing, built on riffing brass sections, blues-soaked tenor saxophone, and a rhythm section — particularly the guitar of Freddie Green — that generated an irresistible forward momentum. His own piano playing was a study in economy and space; he famously said "I don't need any left hand" and meant it. His orchestras featured soloists of the highest calibre — Lester Young, Buck Clayton, Jo Jones, and later Joe Williams as vocalist — and recorded classics including "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," and "April in Paris."

Red Bank celebrates Basie with considerable pride. The Count Basie Center for the Arts — a 1,600-seat performing arts venue in the town — bears his name and is a thriving cultural institution. A historical marker notes his birthplace. He died on April 26, 1984, in Hollywood, Florida, from pancreatic cancer, but his orchestra has continued under various successors and performs to this day.