Earle Warren was Count Basie’s longtime alto and occasionally pop ballad singer. After playing banjo, piano, and ukulele with a family band, he took up the saxophone. He eventually settled on the alto. Before joining Basie in 1937, he led several bands in the Midwest. Warren was a strong presence on the saxophone section until the band’s dissolution at the end 1949. He rarely got a solo. Later, he was a manager for various R.
