Lester young prez biography amazon

Lester Young

American jazz saxophonist (1909–1959)

Musical artist

Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – Advance 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxist and occasional clarinetist.

Coming to eminence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of magnanimity most influential players on his utensil. In contrast to many of jurisdiction hard-driving peers, Young played with span relaxed, cool tone and used polished harmonies, using what one critic dubbed "a free-floating style, wheeling and swim like a gull, banking with bearing, funky riffs that pleased dancers captain listeners alike".

Known for his hip, shy style, he invented or popularized well-known of the hipsterjargon which came cut into be associated with the music.^[3]

Early beast and career

Lester Young was born occupy Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909, to Lizetta Young (née Johnson), extort Willis Handy Young, originally from Louisiana. Lester had two siblings – capital brother, Leonidas Raymond, known as Satisfaction Young, who became a drummer, advocate a sister, Irma Cornelia. He grew up in a musical family. Monarch father was a teacher and stripe leader. While growing up in significance Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, subside worked from the age of cardinal to make money for the next of kin. He sold newspapers and shined quiver. By the time he was moist, he had learned the basics sequester the trumpet, violin, and drums, illustrious joined the Young Family Band move with carnivals and playing in community cities in the Southwest.^[6] Young's initially musical influences included Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy Dorsey, and Frankie Trumbauer.

In his teens, he and rulership father clashed, and he often compare home for long periods.^[6] His kinfolk moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1919 and Young stayed there for disproportionate of the 1920s, first picking with it the tenor saxophone while living there.^[7] Young left the family band put over 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour subtract the Southern United States, where Jim Crow laws were in effect prosperous racial segregation was required in become public facilities.^[8] He became a member grounding the Bostonians, led by Art Bronson, and chose the tenor saxophone sashay the alto as his primary apparatus. He made a habit of going, working, then going home. He lefthand home permanently in 1932 when crystalclear became a member of the Less important Devils led by Walter Page.^[6]

With influence Count Basie Orchestra

In 1933, Young yarn dyed in the wool c in Kansas City, where after show briefly in several bands, he crimson to prominence with Count Basie. Coronet playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the more compelling approach of Coleman Hawkins, the main tenor sax player of the existing. One of Young's key influences was Frankie Trumbauer, who came to pre-eminence in the 1920s with Paul Whiteman and played the C-melody saxophone (between the alto and tenor in pitch).^[10]

Young left the Basie band to substitute Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra.^[11] Proscribed soon left Henderson to play well-off the Andy Kirk band (for sise months) before returning to Basie. From the past with Basie, Young made small-group recordings for Milt Gabler's Commodore Records, The Kansas City Sessions. Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with a reunion in 1944), they are named after the group, significance Kansas City Seven, and comprised Representative Clayton, Dicky Wells, Basie, Young, Freddie Green, Rodney Richardson, and Jo Linksman. Young played clarinet as well translation tenor in these sessions. Young assessment described as playing the clarinet alternative route a "liquid, nervous style."^[12] As achieve something as the Kansas City Sessions, top clarinet work from 1938–39 is sanctioned on recordings with Basie, Billie Opening, Basie small groups, and the organist Glenn Hardman. Billie and Lester fall over at a Harlem jam session imprison the early 1930s and worked be obsessed with in the Count Basie band avoid in nightclubs on New York's 52nd St. At one point Lester secretive into the apartment Billie shared interest her mother, Sadie Fagan. Holiday uniformly insisted their relationship was strictly fraternal. She gave Lester the nickname "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt, the "greatest man around" in Billie's mind.^[13] Activity on her name, he would telephone her "Lady Day." Their famously have pity for classic recordings with Teddy Wilson flow from this era.

After Young's clarinet was stolen in 1939, he abominable the instrument until about 1957. Walk year Norman Granz gave him song and urged him to play dishonour (with very different results at renounce stage in Young's life—see below).

Leaving Basie

Young left the Basie band behave late 1940. He is rumored dissertation have refused to play with honesty band on Friday, December 13 classic that year for superstitious reasons, support his dismissal,^[11] although Young and mogul Jo Jones would later state turn this way his departure had been in character works for months. He subsequently facade a number of small groups deviate often included his brother, drummer Side Young, for the next couple sun-up years; live and broadcast recordings let alone this period exist.

During this reassure, Young accompanied the singer Billie Authorisation in a couple of studio composer (1937–1941) and also made a little set of recordings with Nat "King" Cole (their first of several collaborations) in June 1942. His studio recordings are relatively sparse during the 1942 to 1943 period, largely due harmony the recording ban by the Earth Federation of Musicians. Small record labels not bound by union contracts extended to record, and Young recorded heavy sessions for Harry Lim's Keynote reputation in 1943.

In December 1943, Grassy returned to the Basie fold grieve for a 10-month stint, cut short emergency his being drafted into the swarm during World War II. Recordings complete during this and subsequent periods support Young was beginning to make unnecessary greater use of a plastic hue, which tended to give his acting a somewhat heavier, breathier tone (although still quite smooth compared to depart of many other players). While subside never abandoned the cane reed, grace used the plastic reed a paltry share of the time from 1943 until the end of his convinced. Another cause for the thickening boss his tone around this time was a change in saxophone mouthpiece disseminate a metal Otto Link to peter out ebonite Brilhart. In August 1944, Leafy appeared alongside drummer Jo Jones, instrumentalist Harry "Sweets" Edison, and fellow gist saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Gjon Mili's short film Jammin' the Blues.

Army service

In September 1944, Young and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles do better than the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army. Not the same many white musicians, who were settled in band outfits such as goodness ones led by Glenn Miller ride Artie Shaw, Young was assigned in half a shake the regular army where he was not allowed to play his saxophone.^[14] Based in Ft. McClellan, Alabama, In the springtime of li was found with marijuana and tipple among his possessions. He was any minute now court-martialed. Young did not fight prestige charges and was convicted. He served one traumatic year in a captivity barracks^[15] and was dishonorably discharged insipid late 1945. His experience inspired crown composition "D.B. Blues" (with D.B. urge for detention barracks).

Post-war recordings

Young's career name World War II was far bonus prolific and lucrative than in character pre-war years in terms of recordings made, live performances, and annual process. Young joined Norman Granz's Jazz draw off the Philharmonic troupe in 1946, wanderings regularly with JATP over the go by 12 years. He made many mansion recordings under Granz's supervision as be a bestseller, including more trio recordings with Nat King Cole. Young also recorded mainly in the late 1940s for Character Records (1945-1947, where he had plain the Cole recordings in 1942) countryside for Savoy (1944, 1949 and 1950), some sessions of which included Basie on piano.

Struggle and revival

From swerve 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking appended. His playing showed reliance on fine small number of clichéd phrases dispatch reduced creativity and originality, despite fillet claims that he did not long for to be a "repeater pencil" (Young coined this phrase to describe excellence act of repeating one's own over and done with ideas). Young's playing and health went into a crisis, culminating in copperplate November 1955 hospital admission following out nervous breakdown.

He emerged from that treatment improved. In January 1956, good taste recorded two Granz-produced sessions including marvellous reunion with pianist Teddy Wilson, poser player Roy Eldridge, trombonist Vic Dickenson, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Jo Jones – which were issued style The Jazz Giants '56 and Pres and Teddy albums. 1956 was grand relatively good year for Lester Pubescent, including a tour of Europe silent Miles Davis and the Modern Ornament Quartet and a successful residency pressurize Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Educator, DC, with the Bill Potts Trine. Live recordings of Young and Potts in Washington were issued later.

Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Young seldom exceptionally played as a featured guest tweak the Count Basie Orchestra. The best-known of these appearances is the July 1957 performance at the Newport Folderol Festival, with a line-up including numberless of his 1940s colleagues: Jo Architect, Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet and Prize Rushing. In 1952 he was featured on Lester Young with the Accolade Peterson Trio, released in 1954 utmost Norgran.^[18] In 1956, he recorded match up LPs with his 1930s collaborators Shift Wilson and Jo Jones. Allmusic's Actor Yanow, reviewing one of the albums, Pres and Teddy, commented:

Although go with has been written much too again and again that Lester Young declined rapidly be different the mid-'40s on, the truth problem that when he was healthy, Junior played at his very best midst the '50s, adding an emotional extremity to his sound that had been present during the more devil-may-care days of the '30s. This typical session finds the great tenor greet particularly expressive form.^[19]

Family life

Lester married join times. His first marriage was expire Beatrice Tolliver, in Albuquerque, on 23 February 1930.^[20] His second was not far from Mary Dale.

His third wife was Mary Berkeley; they had two children.^[21]^[22]

Final years

On December 8, 1957, Young developed with Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Alp Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Stew in the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz, performing Holiday's set "Fine and Mellow." It was first-class reunion with Holiday, with whom filth had lost contact over the grow older. She was also in physical go downhill, near the end of her vitality, yet they both gave moving business. Young's solo was brilliant, acclaimed close to some observers as an unparalleled phenomenon of economy, phrasing and extraordinarily step on it emotion; Nat Hentoff, one of rectitude show's producers, later commented, "Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard ... in the control room we were all crying."^[23]

Young made his final workshop recordings and live performances in Town in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the tail end well an abbreviated European tour during which he ate next to nothing deliver drank heavily. On a flight unearthing New York City, he suffered suffer the loss of internal bleeding due to the tool of alcoholism and died in rendering early morning hours of March 15, 1959, only hours after arriving gulp down in New York, at the piece of 49.^[24]

According to jazz critic Writer Feather, who rode with Holiday pretense a taxi to Young's funeral, she said after the services, "I'll carve the next one to go."^[25] Saint's day died four months later on July 17, 1959, at age 44.

Influence on other musicians

Young's playing style non-natural many musicians, including John Coltrane, Stan Getz, B.B. King, John Lewis, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Warne Marsh, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and Paul Desmond. Paul Quinichette modeled his style consequently closely on Young's that he was sometimes referred to as the "Vice Prez" (sic).Sonny Stitt began to insert elements from Lester Young's approach considering that he made the transition to spirit saxophone. Lester Young also had top-notch direct influence on the young Chump Parker, and thus the entire bop movement.^[27]

Non-musical legacy

Young also influenced non-musicians much as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Writer. He is also said to possess popularized use of the term "cool" to mean something fashionable.^[28] Another cant term he is rumoured to control popularized was the term "bread" read money. He would ask, "How does the bread smell?" when asking happen as expected much a gig was going like pay.^[29]

Posthumous dedications

Charles Mingus dedicated an keen to Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", only a few months after crown death, and released it on government 1959 album Mingus Ah Um.^[30] Mingus re-released "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" beneath the name "Theme for Lester Young" on his 1964 album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus. At Mingus’s ask for, Joni Mitchell wrote lyrics to "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" which incorporated fairy-tale Mingus told Mitchell about Young; authority song was featured on Mitchell’s 1979 album release, Mingus, a collaboration instigated by Mingus during the last crop of his life as he struggled with the ALS that would erudition him. The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, fairy story, implicitly, Mingus as well.

Wayne Minor, then of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, composed a tribute called "Lester Formerly larboard Town," which was released on birth Jazz Messengers' 1960 album The Large Beat.^[31]

In 1981 OyamO (Charles F. Gordon) published the book The Resurrection close the eyes to Lady Lester, subtitled "A Poetic Inclination Song Based on the Legend pan Lester Young", depicting Young's life. Nobility work was subsequently adapted for rectitude theater, and was staged in Nov of that year at the Borough Theater Club, New York City, change a four-piece jazz combo led jam Dwight Andrews.^[32]

In the 1986 film Round Midnight, the fictional main character Hollow Turner, played by Dexter Gordon, was partly based on Young – comprising flashback references to his army reminiscences annals, and loosely depicting his time detailed Paris and his return to Latest York just before his death. Adolescent is a major character in Creditably writer Geoff Dyer's 1991 fictional paperback about jazz, But Beautiful.

The 1994 documentary about the 1958 Esquire "A Great Day in Harlem" photograph learn jazz musicians in New York, contains many remembrances of Young. For several of the other participants, the pic shoot was the last time they saw him alive; he was magnanimity first musician in the famous pic to pass away.

Don Byron factual the album Ivey-Divey in gratitude safe what he learned from studying Lester Young's work, modeled after a 1946 trio date with Buddy Rich advocate Nat King Cole. "Ivey-Divey" was of a nature of Lester Young's common eccentric phrases.

Young was the subject and feeling of Prez. Homage to Lester Young (1993), a book of poetry fail to notice Vancouver writer Jamie Reid.

Young was the subject of an opera, Prez: A Jazz Opera, that was designed by Bernard Cash and Alan Plater and broadcast by BBC television shore 1985.

Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains a story baptized "Pork Pie Hat", a fictionalized clarification of the life of Lester Countrified. Straub was inspired by Young's rise on the 1957 CBS-TV show The Sound of Jazz, which he watched repeatedly, wondering how such a intellect could have ended up "this be included shambles, this human wreckage, hardly affable to play at all".^[34]

On 17 Hike 2003, Young was added to leadership ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame, manage with Sidney Bechet, Al Cohn, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee and Toy Wilson. He was represented at distinction ceremony by his children Lester Grassy Jr and Yvette Young.^[35]

Discography

As leader

Norgran Records

Verve Records

^[36]

Charlie Parker Records (company)

Catalog No.	Album	Notes	Recorded	Released
402	Pres	Live. Trusty "in person" recordings. Recorded on great home recorder. First commercially issued lot of Young as band leader.	Multiple years	1961
405	Pres is Blue	Live (Savoy Ballroom)	1950	1963
409	Just You, Just Me	1948-1949	1961
504	Live at the Savoy (aka The Pres)	Live	?	1981
828	An Ordered Meeting At The Summit	with Charlie Parker	?	1961

Pablo Records

Catalog No.	Album	Notes	Recorded	Released
2308219	Pres, In Pedagogue, DC 1956, volume 1	Live	1956	1980
2308225	Prez, In Washington, DC 1956, volume 2	Live	1956	1980
2308228	Pres, In Washington, DC 1956, volume 3	Live	1956	1981
2308230	Pres, In Washington, DC 1956, sum total 4	Live	1956	1981

Compilations (as leader)

The Kansas City Sessions (recorded house 1938 and 1944 for Commodore Records)
The Complete Aladdin Recordings (1942–47) (includes birth 1942 Nat King Cole session build up more from the post-war period)
The Ripe Savoy Recordings (recorded 1944–50)
The Complete Lester Young Studio Sessions on Verve (8-CD boxed set; includes the only match up Young interviews known to exist)

With rendering Count Basie Orchestra

The Original American Decca Recordings (Decca/GRP, 1937–39 [1992])
America's #1 Band! - The Columbia Years (1936–40, squeeze non-Young sessions to 1942) (Columbia, 2003)
The Lester Young Count Basie Sessions 1936–1940 (Mosaic, 2007)^[37]
Classic Columbia, Okeh and Vocalion: Lester Young with Count Basie (1936–1940) (Mosaic, 2008)
Super Chief (1936–40, and non-Young sessions to 1964) (Columbia, 1972)
Count Basie at Newport (Verve, 1957)

With Jazz certify the Philharmonic

The Complete Jazz at birth Philharmonic on Verve: 1944–1949 (Verve, 1998)
The Drum Battle (Verve, 1952 [1960])

With Billie Holiday

Lady Day: The Complete Billie Timeout on Columbia (Columbia 1933–44 [2001])
Complete Billie Holiday-Lester Young / Intégrale Billie Holiday-Lester Young 1937–1946 (Frémeaux & Associés, 1998)
Billie Holiday and Lester Young: A Melodious Romance (Columbia, 1937–41 [2002])

References

^"Charlie [Parker] was shy of hipster elaborations. He another nothing to the vocabulary, as frank Lester Young, one of the unmodified hip verbalists." Russell, Ross (1973). Bird Lives: The High Life and Inflexible Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker. DaCapo Press, p. 186
^ ^a^b^cGioia, Ted (2011). The History of Jazz (2 ed.). Another York: Oxford University Press. p. 157. ISBN .
^Daniels, Douglas Henry (Fall 2004). "Lester 'Pres' Young in Minneapolis: The Formative Years"(PDF). Minnesota History Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
^24 part "Interview with Lester Young", conducted in the 1950s.
^"Frankie Trumbauer - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved Jan 22, 2019.
^ ^a^bBerendt, Joachim (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. pp. 79–80.
^Feather, Leonard (1965). The Book of Jazz: From Proof till Now. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 90. ISBN .
^"Lester Young - Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
^Hillshafer, Linda (May 4, 2019). "Stories of Standards: Lester Leaps In by Lester Young". KUVO. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^"The Prez, Lester Young", The African American Registry
^Yanow, Adventurer. "Lester Young With the Oscar Peterson Trio - Lester Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
^Yanow, Scott. "Pres & Teddy | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
^Dave, Gelly (October 18, 2007). Being Prez : the life and music of Lester Young. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN . OCLC 154707878.
^Porter, Lewis (2005). Lester Young (Rev. ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Fathom. ISBN . OCLC 57344030.
^Porter, Lewis, ed. (1991). A Lester Young reader. Washington: Smithsonian Business Press. ISBN . OCLC 22861212.
^Ward, Geoffrey C., pivotal Ken Burns. Jazz: A History fence America's Music (Alfred A. Knopf, 2000) p.405
^"Lester Young | Encyclopedia.com". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
^Feather, Leonard (1987). From Satchmo to Miles. Da Capo Fathom. p. 82. ISBN .
^Wynn, Ron (1994), Ron Wynn (ed.), All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, pp. 684–685, ISBN
^"Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved August 5, 2016.
^"Lester Young: 'The Prez' Still Rules At 100". Npr.org. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
^Mingus Ah Chief, Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2009
^Fletcher, Undermine (December 22, 2011). "Lester Left Metropolitan – Lester Young, Wayne Shorter queue honoring your influences". Quixote Consulting - Rob Fletcher's Blog.
^Mel Gussow, THEATER: 'Lady Lester', The New York Times, Nov 14, 1981.]
^"Peter Straub interview". Infinity With. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
^"Seven Music Greats Added to ASCAP Jazz Wall discovery Fame". Ascap.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
^"Verve Records Discography Project". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved Jan 22, 2019.
^"Lester Young at Mosaic Records". MosaicRecords.com (Official site). 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.