Rutgers Newark Acquires Jazz Legend Count Basie’s Collection

NEWARK, NJ — The spirit of one of America’s greatest jazz pioneers will soon flow through the Brick City. On Wednesday, Rutgers University-Newark announced that it acquired the collection of the late William J. “Count” Basie Jr., which will soon be available for public display.

With nearly 1,000 artifacts, the Count Basie collection includes Basie’s pianos, Hammond organ, photos, correspondence, concert programs, business records, and press clippings. It also includes Basie’s clothes, accessories, scrapbooks and audiovisual material, Rutgers spokespeople stated.

The collection will become available to the public “in the near future,” the university stated.

“It is only fitting that the Count Basie Collection will be housed at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies,” said Wayne Winborne, executive director of IJS. “The IJS has been long recognized as the world’s foremost archives and research facility devoted to jazz. Moreover, unbeknownst to many people, Count Basie was a native New Jerseyan, born and raised approximately 40 miles south of IJS in Red Bank.”

Rutgers provided the following biography of Basie:

“One of the giants of jazz, a global icon, Count Basie remains one of the most popular and recognized figures in American music, even now, 34 years after his death. He was a jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. He enjoyed a career that spanned more than 60 years and helped to elevate jazz as a serious art form. Count Basie established swing as one of jazz’s predominant styles and solidified the link between jazz and the blues. Count Basie’s accolades are many. He earned nine Grammy Awards and made history in 1958 by becoming the first African American to receive a Grammy. Four of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: One O’clock Jump (1979), April in Paris (1985), Everyday I Have the Blues (1992), and Lester Leaps In (2005). In addition to his music, he also received numerous awards and honors from around the world for his humanitarianism and philanthropy.”

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page here.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: YouTube / wasaexpress