{"id":969,"date":"2015-04-06T23:55:15","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T04:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=969"},"modified":"2015-04-08T14:59:45","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T19:59:45","slug":"count-basie-vs-the-manhattan-transfer-a-study-in-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2015\/04\/06\/count-basie-vs-the-manhattan-transfer-a-study-in-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Count Basie vs. The Manhattan Transfer: “A Study in Brown”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Count Basie, a famed jazz pianist and jazz orchestra leader, wrote a tune called “A Study in Brown.” It sounds like the average big band tune, with ample time for piano solos. We can only make\u00a0inferences about Basie’s reason for that title and tune, such as the fact that jazz’s roots are in improvisation styles popular in African American bands of New Orleans, African\u00a0rhythms, and the blues. When Duke Ellington wrote “Black, Brown, and Beige” in 1943, the connections and program were more obvious\u00a0because places in the music clearly imitated the sound of hammers, African American spirituals, and included some lyrics. Listen to how “A Study in Brown” is more elusive to a statement like Ellington’s.[1]<\/a>\u00a0\n\n