Lester Young
Wikimp3 information about the music of Lester Young. On our website we have 70 albums and 38 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
[Edit]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 Immortal Lester Young, Vol. I (Doxy Collection; Remastered Version)
Artist: Lester Young
Genre: Jazz
Title: Giants of Jazz, Vol. 2
Artist: Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Vic Dickenson
Title: Kansas City Swing. The Complete Commodore, Signature & Keynote Sessions
Artist: Lester Young
Genre: Jazz
Title: Prez & Teddy - The Great Recordings
Artist: Lester Young, Teddy Wilson
Title: Fire With Fire (feat. Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel & Ray Brown)
Artist: Lester Young
Genre: Jazz
Collections
Title: Tea For Two: Cafe Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Stompin At The Savoy: Swinging Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Blue In Green: Soft Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Real Good Feeling - 20 Funky Nuggets
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Top 50 Romantic Jazz Instrumentals
Genre: Jazz, Instrumental, Smooth Jazz, Instrumental
Title: Let's Do It! 60 Years Of Verve Records (CD4)
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Title: More Hits Than Ever (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: More Hits Than Ever (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Bebop Swing Cafe
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazzy Kind Of Love
Title: Sentimental Midnight Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Kings Of Swing Collection
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100 Greatest Jazz Icons 2020 (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Fifties Jazz Hits
Genre: Jazz
Title: TSF 100% Jazz (Vol. 1: Jazz In The City) (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Bebop: Pioneers And Classic Performances 1941-49 (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Bebop: Pioneers And Classic Performances 1941-49 (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Great American Songbook Essentials (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Standards Essentials (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Jam Session, 1 (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Say It (Top 1950s Hits)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Jazz, Rock, Punk Rock, Pop
Title: Blues Saxaphone 3CD (CD1)
Title: Blues Saxaphone 3CD (CD2)
Title: Blues Saxaphone 3CD (CD3)
Title: Cosy Autumn Jazz (CD1)
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Title: 20 Great Jazz Instrumentals (All Tracks Remastered)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Secret Nuggets Of Wise Northern Soul
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Savoy Records: Jazz Classics (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Certified Jazz Classics
Genre: Jazz
Title: New Year's Eve Jazz 2024
Genre: Jazz
Title: Americans In Paris Play Standards, Vol. 3
Genre: Jazz
Title: Americans In Paris Play Standards, Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz
Featuring albums
Title: Forever Jazz: Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (The Best Collection)
Artist: Vários Artistas / Varios Artistas
Genre: Jazz
Title: Ken Burns Jazz: Count Basie
Artist: Count Basie
Genre: Blues, Jazz, Rock, Grunge, Alternative
Title: Woody Allen - Music From His Movies (Volume 2)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Woody Allen - Music From His Movies (Volume 4)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Woody Allen - Music from His Movies, Vol. 7
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: I'm Beginning To See The Light, Dance Hits from the Second World War
Artist: Various
Genre: Pop
Title: Too Marvelous For Words: The Johnny Mercer Songbook (Disc 2)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Jazz Masters - 27 Classic Performances From The Columbia Masterpieces Series
Artist: Various
Genre: Jazz
Title: Standard Jazz: The Masters Perform the Great American Songbook, Vol. 2
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Jazz