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| In Washington D.C. 1956, Volume Two |
| Lester Young |
első megjelenés éve: 1956
39 perc |
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| (1996)
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CD |
| 3.726 Ft
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| 1. | Lester Leaps In
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| 2. | These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
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| 3. | I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
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| 4. | Three Little Words
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| 5. | Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
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| 6. | Almost Like Being In Love
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| 7. | Lullaby Of Birdland
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Jazz / Cool, Mainstream Jazz
Recorded: December 7, 1956, Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge, Washington, D.C.
Lester Young (tenor saxophone)
Bill Potts (piano); Norman Williams (bass); Jim Lucht (drums)
If Lester Young never duplicated his revolutionary artistry of 1936, neither was he a burnt-out case in 1956; far from it. He ended an active and successful year with a week at Olivia's Patio Lounge in Washington, D.C. Bill Potts, who led the accompanying trio, coaxed, cajoled, and bribed the great tenor saxophonist into letting him record much of the engagement for private use. When the music was finally put on LP records 24 years later, it was a revelation to those who had dismissed Young's later work. Circumstances, not ability, sometimes led Pres to play by rote. At Olivia's, the circumstances let him relax. He opened all of his mastery of melody, swing, tone, and rhythmic nuance to produce some of the best playing of his final decade. This second compact disc of the four volumes includes superb versions of pieces from Young's standard repertoire and his only known full-scale treatment of "Lullaby of Birdland."
The second installment of four projected volumes, this once again captures latter-day Lester Young in top form, relaxed and playing with impeccable phrasing and swing. Ably backed by the Bill Potts Trio during his week-long stand at Olivia's Patio Lounge in Washington, these live tapes put the lie to the longstanding jazz myth that Young was well past his prime in the final decade of his life.
If anything, this second volume captures even more adventurous playing by Prez, with fast paced takes on his "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" and "Lester Leaps In." But, as always, Young positively shines on midtempo and ballad material like "Three Little Words," "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)," "These Foolish Things" and "Almost Like Being In Love." Lester shares much of the soloing space with all three members of the trio, and his swapping of four-bar phrases with drummer Jim Lucht can get a little wearing on repeated listens, but the group provides such a comfortable cushion for him to relax and stretch out that it's a minor niggle at best. This also includes Young's only known full-length treatment of "Lullaby of Birdland," almost worth the price of admission alone. Nobody could swing like Lester Young, and given the right setting and circumstances like he was on these dates, he was evidently swinging right to the end. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
Lester Young
Active Decades: '30s, '40s and '50s
Born: Aug 27, 1909 in Woodville, MS
Died: Mar 15, 1959 in New York, NY
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Cool, Mainstream Jazz, Swing
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 low-profile 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.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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