One of the most imitated piano players, Count Basie brought a minimalist, subtle style to his powerful work at the keyboard and was the driving force behind a star-studded band that influenced the course of jazz during the big band era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Its style of interspersing the Count's intricately timed piano chords with blasting ensemble passages and explosive solos made it one of the most admired of big bands for more than 30 years.

By sheer accident, Basie came under the influence of the Kansas City jazz style, the essence of which was "relaxation." Franklin Driggs writes that the "Southwestern style" had "intense drive and yet was relaxed." Notes might be played "just before or just after" the beat while the rhythm flowed on evenly. These are characteristics any listener to Basie's "One O'Clock Jump" would understand. At age...