Earle Warren
Encyclopedia
Earle Warren was an alto saxophonist
and occasional singer with Count Basie
.
He was born in Springfield
, Ohio
.
He was the primary alto saxophonist in the Basie orchestra in its formative years and its heyday, from 1937 to the end of the 1940s. After the break-up of Basie's 1940s band, in 1949, he worked with former Basie trumpeter, Buck Clayton
.
Earle Warren also played some rock´n roll, working for Alan Freed
in Alan Freed's Christmas Jubilee, December 1959, which was the very last big Alan Freed show before the payola
scandal put an end to the legendary Freed's career.
He also appeared in the 1970s jazz film of Count Basie and his band, Born to Swing.
In his later years, Warren performed often at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City, helming a band called The Countsmen, which also featured fellow former Basie-ite Dicky Wells
on trombone and Peck Morrison
on bass. He lived part of the time in Switzerland where he fathered a child in a May/September romance.
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and occasional singer with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
.
He was born in Springfield
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
He was the primary alto saxophonist in the Basie orchestra in its formative years and its heyday, from 1937 to the end of the 1940s. After the break-up of Basie's 1940s band, in 1949, he worked with former Basie trumpeter, Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton
Buck Clayton was an American jazz trumpet player who was a leading member of Count Basie’s "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong...
.
Earle Warren also played some rock´n roll, working for Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
in Alan Freed's Christmas Jubilee, December 1959, which was the very last big Alan Freed show before the payola
Payola
Payola, in the American music industry, is the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio, in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast. Under U.S...
scandal put an end to the legendary Freed's career.
He also appeared in the 1970s jazz film of Count Basie and his band, Born to Swing.
In his later years, Warren performed often at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City, helming a band called The Countsmen, which also featured fellow former Basie-ite Dicky Wells
Dicky Wells
William Wells, , more famous under the name of Dicky Wells , was an American jazz trombonist....
on trombone and Peck Morrison
Peck Morrison
John A. "Peck" Morrison was an American jazz bassist.Morrison was classically trained, and was competent on trumpet and percussion in addition to bass. He played in military bands in Italy during World War II and moved to New York after the war to play professionally...
on bass. He lived part of the time in Switzerland where he fathered a child in a May/September romance.
External links
- [ allmusic.com biography]
- Photo of Earl Warren with other bandmembers, at Library of Congress