| Christina Aziz |
An American musician and actor, born in Red Bank, New Jersey, USA as William Allen James Basie. He won 9 Grammy Awards, was a winner of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1982 for his musical work. He married Catherine Morgan (1942-1983), they had a child, and she remained with him until her death.
He is known for Pearl Harbor (2001), The Salton Sea (2002), and Malcolm X (1992). He was a famous composer, pianist, organist, jazz musician, songwriter, and conductor. He worked with singers, dancers, and comedians in vaudeville, film and television.
After forming his band, he worked on the radio, and in 1936, he went to New York, where he appeared in hotels, clubs, theaters, and jazz festivals. Each of his parents had a musical background as his father played the mellophone, and his mother played the piano. He learned to improvise music, became interested in drums, took up the piano again, and played in amateur shows.
In 1920, he went to Harlem - the cradle of negroes and jazz musicians - and toured with many bands. He worked in the vaudeville theater as a soloist and toured a great deal as a solo pianist and a music director for singers, dancers, and comedians, until he formed his own band in 1935.
A year later, he headed with his band to Chicago for their first recording, beginning a long journey that lasted nearly 50 years. He appeared in films as an actor, and his first movie was Policy Man (1938). His last movie was Blazing Saddles (1974). He also participated as a music composer in a large number of movies, the first of which was Take Me Back Baby (1941). He died in Hollywood, Florida, USA on April 26, 1984 of pancreatic cancer.
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