Grammys' Win Brings Home Basie Legacy, Says Red Bank Historian

RED BANK, NJ — For local historian Gilda Rogers, the announcement of one winner at the 66th annual Grammys last Sunday brought her face to face with history - William James "Count" Basie history.

The winner for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album was "Basie Swings The Blues," by the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Scotty Barnhart.

And for Rogers, it was yet another example of the endurance of the legacy of one of the most important musicians in American history - born and raised in Red Bank.

Basie was a jazz pianist, organist, bandleader and composer. He was born in Red Bank, and his mother, who herself played the piano, gave Basie his first lessons.

Basie was born in 1904, and started the band in 1935, she said.

"Eighty-nine years later it is still playing the world to sold-out audiences," Rogers said.

The Grammy win struck a chord with Rogers, and she has a vision, she said - a vision for a Basie Jazz Festival in Red Bank.

She said she would love to see an annual festival. New generations have been inspired by his work, she said, referring to a recent compilation of recordings based on his music, ranging from classical jazz to hip-hop.

"Red Bank is his home - he should be everywhere," she said.

It's just an idea, but Rogers has had ideas before - as with the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center on Drs. James Parker Blvd.

She is executive director there now. But her connection started when she first noticed the decaying Victorian home where Black investigative journalist T. Thomas Fortune once lived.

Through many years, many generous donors, and much community involvement, the house is now not only a museum with historical exhibits but a community outreach for education of the public at large and young people in particular.

One of its first installations from 2020 was about Basie.

You can still catch a "Love Letter to Count Basie" exhibit through the month of February. It is open Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be replaced after that by an exhibit devoted to journalist Ida B. Wells, Rogers said.

It spans a period from the Great Migration (his parents' story) to the the Harlem Renaissance, during which Basie played an integral role, Rogers said.

Clarence Banks, one of the last two musicians Basie personally hired for his orchestra, has visited the Fortune House, too.

The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank is also strongly connected with its namesake. A statue to Basie was dedicated there this summer.

And there's a possibility the Count Basie Orchestra will perform there.

"We’re hoping to have them return to the Basie Center during our 2025-26 100th anniversary year," said Jon Vena, chief marketing officer for the center.

For Rogers, that would be a perfect touch for the theater's anniversary - and a chance to bring home the Basie legacy to the public once again.

Basie was the first Black artist to win a Grammy in 1958, she said.

"He died in 1984," she said, "and he's still swinging!"