When they had time off from the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s, the Count's rhythm musicians formed a small ensemble called The Kansas City Five, with trumpeter Buck Clayton, drummer Jo Jones, bassist Walter Page, rhythm guitarist Freddie Green and Eddie Durham's electric guitar (as a replacement for Count Basie's piano). When Lester Young joined the band in 1938, on clarinet and tenor sax, it became the Kansas City Six.

Line-up:
Buck Clayton (Trumpet)
Eddie Durham (Guitar)
Freddie Green (Guitar)
Jo Jones (Drums)
Walter Page (Bass)