IV 108th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 778 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 17, 2004 Mr. Pallone (for himself, Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, and Mr. Rangel) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce RESOLUTION Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Count Basie and acknowledging his important contributions to jazz and swing music.

Whereas on August 21, 1904, renowned pianist and bandleader William Count Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey; Whereas in 1924, William Count Basie moved to New York City and, under the influence of James P. Johnson and Thomas Fats Waller, learned the style of piano known as stride piano, a contrasting constant beat from the left hand with a melodious right hand; Whereas in 1927, William Count Basie’s vibrant musical career took off when he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and joined Walter Page’s Blue Devils Band; Whereas William Count Basie joined the Bennie Morton Band, and took over as bandleader in 1935, renaming the band Count Basie and his Cherry Blossom Orchestra; Whereas Count Basie and his Cherry Blossom Orchestra disbanded, but eventually reformed as the Count Basie Orchestra; Whereas the Count Basie Orchestra dominated the realms of jazz and swing for several decades; Whereas the music of William Count Basie and the Count Basie Orchestra solidified the bond between the musical fashion of jazz and the mournful sounds of the blues; Whereas William Count Basie and the Count Basie Orchestra established swing as a predominant force in the musical tastes of generations; Whereas the music of William Count Basie maintained a lightness and precision that has set the tone for modern jazz accompanying styles; Whereas William Count Basie perfected a style of piano known as comping, a syncopated and highly precise style of chords on the piano; Whereas William Count Basie’s most famous pieces included One O’clock Jump, Swingin’ the Blues, Jumpin’ at the Woodside, April in Paris, Shiny Stockings, and Every Day I Have the Blues; Whereas in 1983, William Count Basie was awarded an American Jazz Masters Award by the National Endowment for the Arts; Whereas in 1984, in honor of William Count Basie’s accomplishments, an historic theater in his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey, was renamed the Count Basie Theatre; Whereas in 1996, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp in honor of William Count Basie; Whereas the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded William Count Basie 9 Grammy Awards throughout his career, as well as the Grammy Trustees Award in 1981, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; and Whereas William Count Basie passed away on April 26, 1984, leaving his music and the Count Basie Orchestra as vivid reminders of his brilliant talent and influential career: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of William Count Basie; and (2)acknowledges the important contributions of William Count Basie to jazz and swing music.