August 21st is the birthday of pianist and bandleader William Basie better know as the Count. I checked to see if I had done a birthday salute to him in the past and surprisingly I had not. So I hope you'll tune in and listen to some early Basie recordings from 1936 and 1937 as we learn about the career of one of the greatest of Big Band Leaders, Count Basie. The early 1936 band that the Count led was in my opinion one of his most exciting. Some of the players in this band included Jo Jones, Herschel Evans, Lester Young, Walter Page. There is some great music in Part One and next week we will continue with more music from the Basie Band and also celebrate the birthday of Jimmy Rushing and play some of the sides he recorded with Count Basie. Please visit this podcast at http://bigbandbashfm.blogspot.com