Count Basie took his orchestra to the third-most populous city in the United States in 2000.
Chicago ( [ ʃᵻˈkɑːɡoʊ ] or [ ʃᵻˈkɔːɡoʊ ] ) , officially the City of Chicago , is the third-most populous city in the United States . William James `` Count '' Basie ( August 21 , 1904 -- April 26 , 1984 ) was an American jazz pianist , organist , bandleader , and composer . In 1935 , Basie formed his own jazz orchestra , the Count Basie Orchestra , and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording .