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Born on August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey, William James Basie was taught piano by his mother. At age 20 he moved to Harlem, center of the jazz piano world at that time, and soon began touring with various groups. He first gained fame in Bennie Moten's band, based in Kansas City; when Moten died in 1935, Basie formed his own group incorporating many Moten men.

Columbia Records producer/A&R man John Hammond heard Basie's band on the radio and made the first recordings of the band in 1936, but it was when Basie started recording for Decca in 1937 that he made his most classic records. The three-cd set The Complete Decca Recordings is the crucial documentation of what may have been the hardest-swinging big band, and additionally shows why Lester Young became an icon of the tenor saxophone. Each of the three discs in this set is devoted to one year...

As Monday turned into Tuesday, the Oklahoma town of Moore, a community of 41,000 people 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, braced for another long, harrowing day following the monstrous tornado that struck mid-afternoon Monday and laid the town to waste, demolishing an elementary school and reducing homes to piles of splintered wood. "As long as we are here ... we are going to hold out hope that we will find survivors," said Trooper Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. While the medical examiner's office officially reported 24 dead Tuesday morning, more than 120 people are being treated at hospitals, including about 50 children.

A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 24 people were killed, according to the medical examiner's office and officials said the death toll was expected to rise. The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, Okla., a community of 41,000 people about 10 miles south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

Quantum Leap and Mvd Visual will release the second set of "America's Music Legacy" on DVD - December 7, featuring the titles "Blues", "Dixieland Jazz", "Folk" and "Soul", recorded between 1983-85, by 20th Century Home Entertainment.

"...'Blues' is subdivided into subgenres ranging from country to urban blues that were more or less popular during different periods of the 20th century. Best known are the Delta, Piedmont, Jump and Chicago blues styles. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience. In the 1960's and 1970's, a hybrid form called blues rock evolved..."

The 'Blues' program is hosted by Brock Peters, featuring performances by B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Pee Wee Crayton, Jimmy Rushing, Ernie Andrews and a whole lot more.

"...'Blues' and 'ragtime', along with a rich local brass band tradition and many other influences, came together in the early 1900's in New Orleans,...

Muddy: Classic concertsUniversal, Rs 495Rating: ***** Any lover of jazz and blues — and some hard-boiled haters too — has heard Muddy Waters. But how many have seen Waters shake his large torso like Elvis on fire? Well, here’s your chance to savour the moment, which came at the Newport Jazz Fest, 1960. Stomping to an encore of ‘Got my Mojo working’, Waters brings on stage his guru Jimmy Rushing and a couple of dancers. The inspired shake that results in would have put Shammi Kapoor to shame. The DVD also features a quieter Waters at the 1968 Copenhagen fest and ...

In December of 1957, CBS broadcast a program called "The Sound of Jazz." It featured an all-star lineup of jazz veterans including Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan. This particular clip is of the singer Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie and his orchestra, playing a supremely swinging version of "I Left My Baby." Soloists include Webster, Basie on piano, trombonist Dickie Wells, Eldridge, and the legendary Coleman Hawkins.