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Count Basie

Count Basie Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia

Test your knowledge of Count Basie's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.

All quizzes

Top 5 Scores

  1. #1Neon_Nova_18864
  2. #2Neon_Orbit_27833
  3. #3Electric-Thunder-23788
  4. #4Neon-Quokka-23750
  5. #5Dusty Beacon705

Scores are valid for 15 days.

Count Basie at a glance

Main genre
Big-band jazz and swing standards
Active
1935-1984 (peak 1930s to 1950s)
Real name
William James "Count" Basie
Best-known songs to guess
One O'Clock Jump, April in Paris, Jumpin' at the Woodside
Deep cuts fans miss
Lester Leaps In, Every Day I Have the Blues (with Joe Williams), Corner Pocket
Eras in the quiz
1930s Kansas City swing, the 1950s New Testament band, the 1960s singer collaborations
Rhythm anchor
Guitarist Freddie Green held the band's swing for decades
Related artists
Duke Ellington · Glenn Miller · Judy Garland
Quiz difficulty
Easy on 'One O'Clock Jump', harder identifying the sparse piano and the instrumentals

Guess the Count Basie Song

'One O'Clock Jump' and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside' are the signatures players catch first.

  1. 01

    One O'Clock Jump

  2. 02

    April in Paris

  3. 03

    Jumpin' at the Woodside

  4. 04

    Lester Leaps In

  5. 05

    Every Day I Have the Blues

  6. 06

    Corner Pocket

  7. 07

    Buns Blues

  8. 08

    (Up A) Lazy River

Count Basie Trivia: Less Is More

The sparse piano touch, the Kansas City groove, and the 'one more once' call on 'April in Paris'.

  • 'One O'Clock Jump', recorded in 1937, became Count Basie's signature tune and served as his band's theme for the rest of his career. It is a reliable 1930s answer in a quiz on music by decade.
  • Basie built his band in Kansas City and was famously economical at the piano, letting a few well-placed notes and a hard-swinging rhythm section carry the music.
  • His long-running rhythm section, anchored by guitarist Freddie Green, held one of the tightest swing grooves in jazz for decades.
  • Basie's 1955 recording of 'April in Paris' revived the band's fortunes and is known for his spoken 'one more time' and 'one more once' calls over its false endings.
  • The Count Basie Orchestra backed Frank Sinatra on celebrated 1960s recordings and at the Sands in Las Vegas, one of many singers his band powered. Those pairings make a good round when you guess the artist behind the voice.

How Well Do You Know Count Basie's Groove?

The signatures are quick to place; the sparse piano and instrumentals are where the real fans pull ahead.

The jumps that open a Basie round

'One O'Clock Jump' and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside' are the signatures casual players catch first, all momentum and blaring brass.

Less-is-more piano, the ID trick

Basie's sparse, perfectly timed piano is a recognisable fingerprint. A handful of notes is often enough to name him.

The April in Paris gag

The 1955 hit ends with Basie calling 'one more time' and then his famous 'one more once' over its repeated tag endings, one of the most quoted bits in big-band jazz.

The band behind the singers

Basie backed Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and others, so a Basie clip can arrive underneath a famous vocalist you notice first.

About Count Basie

The Kansas City bandleader behind 'One O'Clock Jump', famous for a less-is-more piano touch. His orchestra later powered classic Frank Sinatra recordings.
In a Count Basie quiz, the groove gives the band away before the tune does. Guess the Count Basie song from 'One O'Clock Jump' and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside' to the false endings of 'April in Paris', then test your trivia on the Kansas City bandleader who made sparse, perfectly placed piano his signature. Swing listeners can keep going with another music genre quiz. Hear the rhythm section swing behind guitarist Freddie Green, place the era from 1930s Kansas City to the later singer collaborations, and find out how well you know less-is-more jazz. Then challenge your friends to see who names the groove first.

Count Basie Quiz FAQ

How is the Count Basie quiz played?

You name clips from his orchestra, then answer trivia on his Kansas City swing, his sparse piano style, and the singers his band backed.

Which Count Basie songs appear?

'One O'Clock Jump', 'April in Paris' and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside', along with 'Lester Leaps In' and 'Every Day I Have the Blues'.

What makes the Count Basie quiz hard?

His piano is deliberately sparse and many tracks are instrumentals, so you often identify the band by its rhythm and feel.

What is Count Basie known for?

A hard-swinging Kansas City big band, a less-is-more piano touch, and 'One O'Clock Jump' as his lifelong theme.

Who was Count Basie?

William James 'Count' Basie (1904-1984), an American pianist and bandleader whose orchestra ran for nearly fifty years.

Is the Count Basie quiz free to play?

Yes. Every Count Basie round is free on Songtrivia, no account or Spotify required. Once you know the rounds, guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz.

Sources & methodology

Sources consulted

Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.

Our methodology

Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.