Bennie Moten
A Kansas City pianist and bandleader, Bennie Moten built his territory band into the dominant Southwest jazz outfit of the late 1920s and early '30s, pioneering the riff-driven, blues-based sound that would define Kansas City swing. When Moten died unexpectedly during a routine tonsillectomy in 1935, his young pianist and section leader Count Basie inherited the band — and its sound — outright.
the sound in question
1932
Moten SwingBennie Moten
we haven’t charted Bennie Moten yet
this stretch of the river isn’t mapped. we trace the watershed one artist at a time — and we’re always heading further upstream.