Today would be the birthday of Count Basie – American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. William ‘Count’ Basie is considered one of the most influential jazz musicians in history.<\/p>\n
Did you know? Count Basie’s playing was much more relaxed than a lot of other swing piano players. He actually played fewer notes than his contemporaries! And his most famous single,\u00a0One O’Clock Jump<\/a>, from 1935, was composed when Basie and his band were just messing around. More Basie facts\u00a0here<\/a>. To see and hear Count Basie, take a look at this\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0from the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel – commemorating his life and broadcast at the time of his death in 1984.<\/p>\n To celebrate this great swing pianist, I’ve found some real gems of pianos in Europeana. If you’re a pianist (and I am), just looking at them will make your fingers tingle for a touch of the ivories. And whether you play or not, you can explore a whole range of\u00a0jazz<\/a>\u00a0music on Europeana – it’s not all about the paintings, you know! The first piano I’d like to show you is a square pianoforte from 1840. Who’d have thought a descendant of this sedate instrument would end up being one of the great tools for a genre described by some as ‘the devil’s music’?<\/p>\n I’m including\u00a0 this next piano because it’s just so beautiful. It’s a giraffe piano, so-called because of its long graceful neck.<\/p>\n If you’ve never looked inside a piano – here’s what you’d see if you did. This is a typical upright piano you’d find in a family home, school or church hall. 88 keys, two pedals (one to sustain the sound and one to soften it). When you press a key, a felt-covered hammer hits the appropriate steel string.<\/p>\n And finally, the pi\u00e8ce de resistance, the grand piano. My ambition is to own one of these beauties. And this one is a particularly nice one, it’s by John Broadwood and Sons, made of rosewood and rented, for a time in 1849, to Lord Breadalbane, a member of the Scottish aristocracy. And this is me, playing the piano. OK, no it’s not, but it’s a rather nice poster by Maurice Biais for Erard’s piano makers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"