During his half-century career Count Basie was consumed by twin passions – for the band the world knew well , and for the ponies known only to his tight-lipped band buddies . As soon as the orchestra checked into a hotel , the Count invariably spun around and took off . Changing into casual clothes , he grabbed his black captain ’ s hat , flagged a cab , and headed to the nearest track to watch the fleet-footed racehorses . At rehearsals , sidemen warmed up on their own while Basie sat in the corner , poring over the racing form , calculating the odds and considering his bets . Once , when the band was in Europe waiting for a |
train , ‘ a woman was standing next to us with a greyhound dog ,’ recalled saxophonist Frank Wess . ‘ And Basie asked the woman , “ Can he run ?”’
‘ Basie was the sweetest cat in the world , but a serial , black-belt gambling junkie ,’ said producer Quincy Jones . ‘ He ’ d go to the roulette table and put $ 100 on every number … With one hand at the roulette wheel , Basie was simultaneously placing his bets with the other hand at the closest blackjack table ; from there he ’ d segue to the telephone to call his bookie .’
That dependency would take less of a toll than the heroin , marijuana , and other drugs that jazzmen back then took more of than any other profession . Yet the Count ’ s endless betting and surefire losing carried a cost . Like most people with an addiction , he believed the gambling only hurt himself ; in fact , it affected his wife , daughter , and bandmates .
Gaming debts were the
|
biggest reason the Count folded his big band in 1950 for two years , throwing half his sidemen out of work . The red ink pushed the Count to tie his musical fortunes to mobsters and hustlers like Morris Levy and Teddy Reig . ‘ Basie had lost his ass playing horses ,’ remembered trumpeter Clark Terry . ‘ While doing so , the cats whom he owed said , “ You can run your band for salary , and we ’ ll take so much every week out of your bread to get you back up to par .”’
Basie admitted in his memoir that ‘ Kate and I were right at home with all of those little clicking wheels and felt tables and galloping bones and slot machines .’ But he attributed such obsessions to his wife , saying , ‘ that , by the way , was something Katy turned me on to .’ In truth , he ’ d always been a plunger , and Katy was alarmed by his overindulgence . Once , she foiled the Count ’ s scheme to hock her fur coats to cover his hapless bets . That , along with
|