BASIE, William J. “Count” (1904-1984).

Retained copies of two American Federation of Musicians Travelling Cards for Count Basie and vocalist Jimmy Rushing to tour with Bennie Moten in 1930, the small printed forms completed in black ink in an unknown hand for ‘William Bassie’ [sic] and ‘James Rushing’, dated 31 December 1930, with embossed authorisation stamps of Local #627, each 100 x 162 mm.

The AFM Travelling Card was a vital document required for an American musician to play outside of their own member local, showing that their dues were fully paid up to the union. Basie and Rushing had been playing together since 1928 as members of leading territorial band the Oklahoma City Blue Devils. When Basie became the pianist of the Bennie Moten band the following year, Rushing was soon brought on as primary vocalist, and the ambitious Moten proceeded to tour the new line-up beyond the Southwest territory. In his autobiography Good Morning Blues, Basie recalls this key period at the beginning of his celebrated career: ‘We brought in Jimmy Rushing to be our featured singer… old Rush and I were a pretty tight pair of old running buddies… [Bennie] really wanted to see if we could work our way east and try to break into some of that big-time action that you had to have if you were going to get national recognition… he and Maceo Birch had lined up a series of one-nighters that took us across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and by the end of February [1931] we were working our way into Pennsylvania, and from there we were going to try to make it into New York City. That was our ultimate destination.’ Basie played the Savoy Ballroom for the first time on this trip: ‘Not many people around New York knew anything about that band when we went into the Savoy. But we were a big hit in there… Everybody wanted to know where we had been and where we were going.’ Following the untimely death of Bennie Moten in 1935, Basie put together his own band, with Rushing and other Moten members on board. Basie, 156-168.

[With:] a menu card for the Hotel Lincoln, New York, dated 30 December 1943, noting that Count Basie and his Orchestra were playing nightly, signed in pencil by Count Basie on the back cover, additionally inscribed and dated by the recipient on the front cover, 295 x 229 mm. The Basie band began a landmark eight-week engagement at the midtown Manhattan hotel on 5 November 1943, the first African American band to play the Lincoln. Provenance: The Norman R. Saks Collection (Vail, pl.301).

[With:] a concert programme for the French leg of the Count Basie Orchestra’s 1954 European Tour, signed in blue ballpoint pen by Count Basie above his biography portrait, additionally signed by eleven members of the Basie orchestra, wire-stitched in the original pictorial wraps, 271 x 210 mm.