The Most Important Question Of The Day

[ericcoleman]

[Poll #1282615]

Comments

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

Extremely tough call. Both geniuses (although big-band jazz/swing is not really my thing, credit-where-it's-due & all that).

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Oh MAN! I simply cannot choose on this one.

[blur01.livejournal.com]

I probably have equal numbers of albums from both, maybe more
Duke than Basie. Both were incredible to listen to when I was a
child and were highly featured in the "Listening to music" session with
dad.

[powersalad.livejournal.com]

Although I generally prefer Basie's style over Ellington's (less grandiose I suppose), it can't be argued with that Ellington almost single-handedly brought big band music back to the mainstream with his historic 1956 performance at Newport. Brought it back to the upper class, just like it had been at the Cotton Club 25 years before, and spread from there with the writeup in Life magazine. Basie was always there but it returned a more mature big band jazz (post-swing)to the charts and to more Hollywood productions, for example (not just composers writing jazz, but using the big bands themselves, as in Anatomy of a Murder...)

So while I love em both, and prefer Basie personally, I'll have to give it the Duke.

[powersalad.livejournal.com]

I must mention here that I saw the Basie band in 85, with my idol Thad Jones conducting, at a high school auditorium on the west side of Cleveland. That night I got to meet not only Thad (who I had a very pleasant 5-10 minute conversation with) but I also got to meet Basie's legendary chunk-chunk-chunk guitarist Freddie Green. He played unamplified, with a big band, and his sound still cut thru. What a night.

[starstraf.livejournal.com]

Count Basie - cause I saw him preform