"The Refinement of Things" Celebrating Count Basie on his Birthday

On August 21, 1904 Count Basie was born in Red Bank, NJ. In his seventy-nine years on planet earth he contributed immense amounts to the development of jazz. And the legendary orchestra that he led for the majority of his life continues on to this day under the tutelage of Scotty Barnhart. Rick Carlson, a Twin Cities pianist who holds an after hours residency at Crooners, was raised on the piano work of Count Basie and was nice enough to come through Jazz88 to talk about Count Basie's importance in the world of music.