Count Basie Orchestra Dir. by Scotty Barnhart

Acclaimed Jazz Trumpeter Carries on Count Basie’s Legacy

Scotty Barnhart still remembers getting the call in 1993 to join the Count Basie Orchestra, one of the swing era’s most legendary jazz groups. He calls this one of the greatest thrills of his life.
“I had admired and respected the orchestra’s founder, William James ‘Count’ Basie, and his orchestra ever since I was a child,” recalls Barnhart.

Joining the famous band was a “dream come true,” he says.

And when Barnhart was asked to become the orchestra’s new director 20 years later, he remembers it as an almost “out-of-body experience.”

“Being asked to lead the band and preserve Mr. Basie’s rich and important legacy was an incredible honor,” he says.

Basie, widely recognized as one of the greatest bandleaders of all time, formed the Count Basie Orchestra in 1935.

Under Basie, the orchestra defined the big-band era, as it performed for royalty as well as audiences at major jazz festivals and concert halls around the world.

Today, 38 years after Basie’s passing, the 18-time Grammy-winning band still performs sold-out concerts that celebrate Basie’s big-band, swing stylings.

“The Count Basie Orchestra has consistently performed to touch the hearts and souls of millions of people all over the world since 1935 – and we are still at it in 2022,” says Barnhart. “No other orchestra in history has done, or can do, what we do.”

MAKING PEOPLE DANCE… AND JUST FEEL GOOD

Audiences who attend the group’s July shows at Myron’s can expect to be moved in different ways, Barnhart says.

“They’ll want to snap their fingers, tap their feet and even get up and dance,” he promises.

Each of the band’s July shows will feature Carmen Bradford as vocalist, who Barnhart maintains as “one of the greatest jazz vocalists ever.”

In fact, Basie himself hand-picked Bradford as a featured vocalist in 1983, before Basie passed in 1984.

“Carmen Bradford follows in the tradition of jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday, and is a master at singing not only the blues, but also popular songs from the Great American Songbook,” says Barnhart. “She has a commanding yet warm stage presence, and always brings the house down wherever she sings.”

When asked why the Count Basie Orchestra is still relevant to audiences today, Barnhart explains that the band’s music “inspires and elevates” the human condition.

“It’s all about sharing 87 years of Basie swing and excitement, and making people want to dance and feel good,” he says.