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Lester Young

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Wikimp3 information about the music of Lester Young. On our website we have 70 albums and 70 collections of artist Lester Young. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Lester Young represents Jazz genres.

Biography

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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.

Title: The Be-Bop Days

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Take A Walk With

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Boston 1950

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Confession

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Encore by Lester

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Prez & Oscar

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Rums

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Greatest Hits

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Giants Of Jazz

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Yamakasi

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Blues, Alternative

Title: Wood Love

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Just You, Just Me

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: National Dance

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: I Got Rhythm (Live)

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Dance Together

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Forest Walk

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Share My Heart

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: Lester's Song Book

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: 1943-1947

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Title: The Jazz

Artist: Lester Young

Genre: Jazz

Collections

Title: Jazz Queens

Genre: Jazz

Title: Summer Jazz Ballads

Genre: Jazz

Title: Billie & Lester

Genre: Jazz

Title: Genuine Be-Bop!

Genre: Jazz, Bop

Title: Cool Jazz 2

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz For Traveling

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz Story 5

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz For Beginners

Genre: Jazz

Title: Wartime Memories

Genre: Pop

Title: Wee Hours Jazz

Genre: Jazz

Title: Tenor Madness

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz Royalty

Genre: Jazz

Title: Midnight Sax

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz: Love Songs

Genre: Jazz

Title: Romantic Jazz

Genre: Jazz

Title: Big City Blues

Genre: New Age, Blues

Title: Jazz Legends

Genre: Jazz

Featuring albums

Title: A Jazz Odyssey

Artist: Oscar Peterson

Genre: Jazz, Bop

Title: 8 Best of Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: 12 Best of Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: 16 Best of Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: La Kle

Artist: Edith Lefel

Genre: World Music

Title: This Is Jazz #11

Artist: Count Basie

Genre: Jazz

Title: Verve 60

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: West Coast Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Oldies: Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Now Playing Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Play - Swing

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Stockholm Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Bebop Jazz Greats

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Sublime Cool Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Top of the Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Jazz N.Y.

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Title: Gershwin in Jazz

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Jazz

Genres