Lester Young - Music Biography, Credits and Discography - AllMusic

Lester Young - Music Biography, Credits and Discography : AllMusic
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Lester Young
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by Scott Yanow
biography [-]
Lester Young was one of the true jazz giants, a tenor saxophonist who came up with a completely different conception in which to play his horn, floating over bar lines with a light tone rather than adopting Coleman Hawkins' then-dominant forceful approach. A non-conformist, Young (nicknamed "Pres" by Billie Holiday) had the ironic experience in the 1950s of hearing many young tenors try to sound exactly like him. Although he spent his earliest days near New Orleans, Lester Young lived in Minneapolis by 1920, playing in a legendary family band. He studied violin, trumpet, and drums, starting on alto at age 13. Because he refused to tour in the South, Young left home in 1927 and instead toured with Art Bronson's Bostonians, switching to tenor. He was back with the family band in 1929 and then freelanced for a few years, playing with Walter Page's Blue Devils (1930), Eddie Barefield in 1931, back with the Blue Devils during 1932-1933, and Bennie Moten and King Oliver (both 1933). He was with Count Basie for the first time in 1934 but left to replace Coleman Hawkins with Fletcher Henderson. Unfortunately, it was expected that Young would try to emulate Hawk, and his laid-back sound angered Henderson's sidemen, resulting in Pres not lasting long. After a tour with Andy Kirk and a few brief jobs, Lester Young was back with Basie in 1936, just in time to star with the band as they headed East. Young made history during his years with Basie, not only participating on Count's record dates but starring with Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson on a series of classic small-group sessions. In addition, on his rare recordings on clarinet with Basie and the Kansas City Six, Young displayed a very original cool sound that almost sounded like altoist Paul Desmond in the 1950s. After leaving Count in 1940, Young's career became a bit aimless, not capitalizing on his fame in the jazz world. He co-led a lowprofile band with his brother, drummer Lee Young, in Los Angeles until re-joining Basie in December 1943. Young had a happy nine months back with the band, recorded a memorable quartet session with bassist Slam Stewart, and starred in the short film Jammin' the Blues before he was drafted. His experiences dealing with racism in the military were horrifying, affecting his mental state of mind for the remainder of his life. Although many critics have written that Lester Young never sounded as good after getting out of the military, despite erratic health he actually was at his prime in the mid- to late-'40s. He toured (and was well paid by Norman Granz) with Jazz at the Philharmonic on and off through the '40s and '50s, made a wonderful series of recordings for Aladdin, and worked steadily as a single. Young also adopted his style well to bebop (which he had helped pave the way for in the 1930s). But mentally he was suffering, building a wall between himself and the outside world, and inventing his own colorful vocabulary. Although many of his recordings in the 1950s were excellent (showing a greater emotional depth than in his earlier days), Young was bothered by the fact that some of his white imitators were making much more money than he was. He drank huge amounts of liquor and nearly stopped eating, with predictable results. 1956's Jazz Giants album found him in peak form as did a well documented engagement in Washington, D.C., with a quartet and a last reunion with Count Basie at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. But, for the 1957 telecast The Sound of Jazz, Young mostly played sitting down (although he stole the show with an emotional one-chorus blues solo played to Billie Holiday). After becoming ill in Paris in early 1959, Lester Young came home and essentially drank himself to death. Many decades after his death, Pres is still considered (along with Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane) one of the three most important tenor saxophonists of all time.
COLLAPSE
GENRES STYLES
Jazz Mainstream Jazz Swing Bop Jazz Instrument Saxophone Jazz Cool
ACTIVE BORN
1930s - 1950s August 27, 1909 in Woodville, MS March 15, 1959 in New York, NY Lester Willis Young Lester Young Trio
DIED
ALIASES MEMBER OF
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artist moods
Elegant Sweet Exuberant Laid-Back/Mellow Joyous Earthy Gentle Passionate
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lester-young-mn0000259529[27/2/2013 6:17:53 ]
- Playful - Romantic - Sentimental - Stylish - Warm
- Refined - Rousing - Sophisticated - Thoughtful
discography
Year
list
Title
condensed
Label
MAIN ALBUMS
COMPILATIONS
DVDS & VIDEOS
Editors' Rating
Average User Rating
artist themes
1948 - Day Driving - Dinner Ambiance - Family Gatherings - Hanging Out - Homecoming - Housework - Night Driving - Slow Dance - Rainy Day - Small Gathering
Live! From the Royal Roost
Unique Jazz
No User Ratings
1950
Pres Lives!
Savoy
No User Ratings
- Sunday Afternoon - Vacation - Relaxation - Romantic Evening
1950
The Pres [Savoy]
Savoy
No User Ratings
1950
Swings Again
Verve
No User Ratings
1950
Lester Young Quartet and Count Basie Seven
Mercury
No User Ratings
1951
Lester Young Collates
Mercury
No User Ratings
1951
Lester Young Trio
Verve / Mercury
(4)
1952
The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio
Verve
(10)
1952
It Don't Mean a Thing
Verve
No User Ratings
1952
Kansas City Style
Commodore Records
No User Ratings
1953
Lester Young Collates No. 2
Verve
No User Ratings
1953
Battle of the Saxes
Aladdin Records
No User Ratings
1953
Just You, Just Me
Dreyfus Records
No User Ratings
1954
Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Vol. 1 Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Vol. 2 Lester Young: His Tenor Sax
Norgran
No User Ratings
1954
Norgran
No User Ratings
1954
Aladdin Records
No User Ratings
1954
The President
Norgran
No User Ratings
1954
Town Hall Concert
Mainstream
No User Ratings
1955
Pres Meets Vice-Pres
Emarcy
No User Ratings
1955
Pres and Sweets
Verve
No User Ratings
1956
The Jazz Giants '56
Verve
(1)
1956
Pres and Teddy
Verve
(2)
1956
Lester Swings Again
Norgran
No User Ratings
1956
Lester Young and His Tenor Sax, Vol. 2
Aladdin Records
No User Ratings
1956
Lester's Here
Norgran
No User Ratings
1956
Live at Birdland, Vol. 2
Band Stand - (import)
No User Ratings
1956
Nat King Cole-Buddy Rich Trio
No User Ratings
1956
Tops on Tenor
Jazztone
No User Ratings
1957
Going for Myself
Verve
(1)
1957
If It Ain't Got That Swing
No User Ratings
1958
Laughin' to Keep from Cryin' The Lester Young: Teddy Wilson Quartet
Verve / PolyGram
No User Ratings
1959
Verve
No User Ratings
1961
Pres
No User Ratings
1998
In Washington, D.C. 1956, Vol. 5 Hall of Fame [Box Set]
Original Jazz Classics
No User Ratings
2002
Past Perfect
No User Ratings
Lester Warms Up
Savoy
No User Ratings
Pres Box, Vols. 1-3 [Box]
Jazz Up
No User Ratings
Jazz Up
No User Ratings
Jazz Up
No User Ratings
Jazz Up
No User Ratings
Jazz Up
No User Ratings
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