Charles Fowlkes

Who was Charles Fowlkes?

Charlie Fowlkes was an American baritone saxophonist, best known for his time with Count Basie, which lasted for more than twenty-five years.

Fowlkes was born in New York, and studied alto and tenor saxophone, clarinet, and violin before settling on the baritone sax. He spent most of his early career in New York, playing with Tiny Bradshaw, Lionel Hampton, and Arnett Cobb. This pattern of work was unusual for a jazz musician at the time; sidemen generally moved rapidly between bands, but Fowlkes had a sense of loyalty that kept him with bands for much longer periods.

This was nowhere more evident than in his relationship with Count Basie. After joining Basie's orchestra in 1953, Fowlkes stayed with it until his death, with a short break in the 1940s for World War II.

Fowlkes was the low-end foundation of the Basie band. Just listen to the Basie numbers, when Fowlkes was present, and you'll hear his low end presence---something that added importantly and richly to the Basied "sound."