This Week In Texas Music History: Count Basie & His Orchestra
This Week In Texas Music History, we’ll meet some musicians who really knew how to honk their horns.
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On May 31, 1940, Count Basie & His Orchestra recorded the song “Super Chief” for Okeh Records. Tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate from Sherman, Texas has remarked that this was his all-time favorite recording session with Basie. The bluesy, honking sound that marks Tate’s signature solo actually can be traced back to Count Basie’s previous tenor saxophonist, Herschel Evans. Evans, who was from Denton, Texas, played with Basie from 1934 to 1939.
Herschel Evans and Buddy Tate brought a unique sound to American jazz and had a profound impact on many other horn players, including legendary saxophonist Lester Young.
Next time on This Week In Texas Music History, we’ll visit the epicenter of Houston’s “Summer of Love.”
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