Basie First of the Blue Devils: Kansas City Stomps to New Swing Sound From Southwest Circuit!

Basie First of the Blue Devils: Kansas City Stomps to New Swing Sound From Southwest Circuit!

By Bjorn Skaptason, Tom's Town Historian

KANSAS CITY, 1929: The darkest days of Prohibition found the brightest lights of Jazz illuminating Kansas City nightlife. Provincial “traveling bands” that played the most remote venues on the “Southwest Circuit” used Tom’s Town as a base of operation, and as a result, some of the finest musicians in the world camped out in KC between tours.

Of all these greats few shone as bright as Bill “Count” Basie, band leader and virtuoso piano man with a pedigree reaching back to Walter Page’s incomparable Blue Devils traveling band. Basie and his orchestra launched the careers of the likes of Lester Young, Jay McShann, Charlie Parker and Jimmy Forrest. The Kansas City sound was characterized by catchy riffs and a heavy swing. Leaning hard into the swing, the Basie band developed a unique sound that inspired a dance craze for the Kansas City Stomp.

The Basie Orchestra played constantly around the midwest, and, after the Coon-Sanders band, were among the first Kansas City acts to broadcast their shows around the country via live radio. At home Basie provided the soundtrack for the good times at every great sin spot from Dante’s Inferno to the Chesterfield Club, Cherry Blossom, Hey Hay Club, and Antlers Club.

Later, the Count moved to New York, and was among the most successful (non-presidential) exports from Tom’s Town. No doubt, Tom Pendergast’s stewardship of Kansas City’s illicit pleasures provided a scene for America’s greatest musicians to work. Tom’s Town provided a base for Page’s Blue Devils, and a launching pad for Count Basie’s all star lineup!