The World Famous Count Basie Orchestra and Ledisi, Live at the Blue Note
Blue Note Jazz Club (131 West 3rd St New York City, NY 10012)
- Full Price:
- $35.00 - $45.00
- Our Price:
- $17.50 - $22.50*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Count Basie Orchestra with Special Guest Ledisi have expired.
The last date listed for Count Basie Orchestra with Special Guest Ledisi was Sunday September 12, 2010 / 10:30pm.
Goldstar Member Tips
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CHARLIEPRO on What to Wear
Casual
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Iamnycgirl on Where to Park
Less than a 1/2 block away from the West 4th station. (A,B,C,D,E,F)
15 Goldstar Member Reviews
Marja
The intimacy of the setting was great. I was thankful that I had read some reviews prior to attending the event so I prepared for the short duration of the show. I imagine that if I'd paid full price I would have felt gypped. The $5 minimum was easily met by ordering the surprisingly robust fruit and cheese plate. The acoustics were lovely, and the band sounded incredible. I sorely missed the opportunity to dance to the infectious, bouncy beat of The Count Basie Orchestra.Written on Sep 14 2010
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robin
This was a great show, and the food was great. But, it is a bit pricey for the short venue played.Written on Nov 07 2007
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dreday79
It was excellent! I had good seats on the balcony level the music was amazing. WOnderful orchestration from the whole band and Ledisi's voice left me speechless as usual.Written on Sep 13 2010
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Goldstar Member
The band was classic, and Ledisi was phenomenal! I would recommend this event to anyone who loves music!Written on Sep 13 2010
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More Information About Count Basie Orchestra with Special Guest Ledisi
Website
http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=5501
Quotes & Highlights
- "The Count Basie Orchestra proves it's the best... one magnificent band... the precision and flair were things to savor, and to marvel at!" -The New York Post
Description
Jazz is an American invention of the 20th century. Its sound is the "modern art" of music. In his 80 year life span, William "Count" Basie so expanded and elevated the art form that his legacy is regarded as "an American Institution" by modern music's connoisseurs worldwide.
Yet the affable "Count" was a very modest gentleman. His motions and musical "conversations" at the piano closely paralleled his approach to life itself. So one might predict he'd be elated to know that the orchestral institution he founded in 1936 is still thriving today.
His sixth-sense quickly assessed each sideman's potential as an ingredient for the distinctive sound of his group. The Count's manner earned the respect of his peers, the affection of his players, and contributed to the rapid success of the new group.
With a keyboard touch or two, sound was set into motion. Always swinging, his piano spots became the band's claim to fame. A simple "Plink, Plink, Plink" closing triplet was all the "signature" his music needed. Despite half a century of changing tastes in popular music, the endurance of The Count Basie Orchestra confirms the genius of his earliest musical instincts.
The Count Basie Orchestra of today is nineteen performers committed to upholding and advancing this "American Institution." Some members are new, yet the majority of the sound still swings from musicians hand-picked by Count Basie himself. They are in demand for television and films, have won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once, and continue to accumulate awards and special recognitions.
Ledisi (the name means "to bring forth" in Nigerian) was born in the Big Easy where she sang with New Orleans Symphony Orchestra when she was 8 years old and spent many adolescent hours watching her mom perform with a local R&B band, often in a nearby park. After the family relocated to Oakland, CA, Ledisi followed her mom's lead and sang in a local band, but left to form her own group and identity.
She's most noted for her continuous performances in Beach Blanket Babylon, a long-running San Francisco-based cabaret that features song parodies, celebrity impersonations, and enormous hats; she got the gig after being nominated for a Shellie award in 1990 for her role as Dorothy in a local version of The Wiz.
She later formed Anibade, Ledisi's middle name, which depending on what you read means "to bring forth luck" or "my mother is great" in Yorubu. Ledisi sometimes fuses R&B, hip-hop, urban, jazz, and funk in the same pot.
The band built a hot reputation in the Bay Area at Bruno's, the Black Cat, and Rasselas. Fans kept asking about a record so the band cut a demo, "Take Time," that radio station KMEL aired and got a good response; the stroke prompted Ledisi to seek a deal with the major recording companies, all of whom praised and turned them down in the same breath. Frustrated, but not thwarted, they cut the critically acclaimed Soulsinger and released it on LeSun Records (owned by Ledisi and Sundra), January 1, 2000. "Papa Loved to Love Me" -- a personal account of a father sexually abusing his daughter -- is one of the CD's most riveting and controversial tracks.
Ledisi has done a jazz album with bassist Marcus Shelby for Noir Records -- Shelby's independent based company in San Francisco -- that further illustrates her skills. Her resume includes singing in choirs, performing jazz, and studying opera and piano at the University of California, Berkley's Young Musicians Program for five years. She's also done commercials and soundtracks for the Sci-Fi Channel along with appearing on the same stages with some of the world's most beloved entertainers. Her third studio album, Lost & Found, was released in 2007.