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Lester Young

Lester "Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out to the side, kind of like a flute (see picture above). Then, there was the way he played: Hawkins played around harmonic runs. He played flurries of notes and had a HUGE tone that the other tenor players of the day emulated. Young used a softer tone that resulted In a soft, light sound (if you didn't know better, you would think the two were playing different instruments). Young used less notes and slurred notes together, creating more melodic solos. He played the ordinary in an extraordinary way, using a lot of subtleties to produce music that Billie Holiday said flips you out of your seat with surprise.

Young moved to Kansas City in the 1930s, the hotbed of jazz during that time, and played in various groups, including King Oliver, Benny Moten, and the traveling Fletcher Henderson orchestra. One of the great jazz myths says that Hawkins, who was the star player of Henderson's orchestra missed a show. Young filled in for him and played so wonderfully, that Hawkins went looking for Young, with sax in hand, to teach the young whippersnapper a lesson. They dueled all night and into the next morning. Hawkins left for Europe and Young took over in Henderson's orchestra. However, the ending wasn't happy — Young was hired to play like Hawkins, and that wasn't Young's thing—he could replace Hawkins, but he wasn't going to impersonate him—so he moved back to Kansas City and in 1936, he joined the Count Basie Orchestra and stayed there until 1949. While he recorded some his finest material with Basie, he didn't record all of his finest recordings with Count. He recorded a fine series of records with Billie Holiday. Within 4 years, he had played in top-rated big band AND small group settings! Some sources say that he gave her the nickname "Lady Day" and she gave him the nickname "Prez" (others say he became the new Prez-ident when he defeated Hawkins).

In 1944, Young was drafted in the Army.

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Radio & Podcasts

Small Groups of the 1930s – Chu, Little Jazz, Rabbit and Pres (1937 - 1940)

Read "Small Groups of the 1930s – Chu, Little Jazz, Rabbit and Pres (1937 - 1940)" reviewed by Russell Perry


While the jazz of the thirties was predominantly remembered as coming from orchestras and big bands, seminal soloists continued to record memorable music in small group settings, setting the stage for disruptive industry transitions to come in the 1940s. Small groups led by Chu Berry, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Hodges and Lester Young in this hour of Jazz at 100. Playlist Host Intro 0:00 Chu Berry And His Stompy Stevedores. “Limehouse Blues" from Chu Berry: 1937-- 1941 (Classics) 2:30 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Iron Men

Read "Iron Men" reviewed by Patrick Burnette


We end 2018 with a bang as the podcast celebrates its sixth--or iron--anniversary. Did you give your significant other a rose dipped in metal for your sixth? If you didn't, shame on you! Get dipping--it's never too late. As per usual at these shindigs, we discuss groups comprised of the number of musicians that the anniversary is -er, sextets, in this case. Happy New Year! Playlist Discussion of Lester Young's Kansas City Six recordings from the thirties on ...

16
The Jazz Life

Telling Stories and Singing Songs

Read "Telling Stories and Singing Songs" reviewed by Peter Rubie


“I believe if you're paying a man to play, and that man is on the bandstand and can play, he should get a chance to tell his story." --Lester Young Prez was once asked how to improvise, and reportedly he said, “Tell them a story." Telling stories about living the jazz life in the early 21st is the heart of what this column is going to be about. Pour yourself a beer or a glass of wine, and ...

744
Building a Jazz Library

Tag Team Jazz, Part 2-2

Read "Tag Team Jazz, Part 2-2" reviewed by Nathan Holaway


Part 1 | Part 2 Jazz has always celebrated rugged individuality, praising those who appreciate others but stay on their own path. So what happens when two (or more intelligent and original musicians come together? Most of the time, pure magic. Stellar tag teams have made some of the finest records in jazz history. Lester Young: Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (Norgran, 1954) One of Young's greatest sessions, with Prez in ...

280
Album Review

Lester Young: 100 Years - Forever Young

Read "100 Years - Forever Young" reviewed by Chris Mosey


In October 1944, Lester Young, one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz, was inducted into the US army. In the 15 months that followed he was subjected to blatant racial prejudice then court martialed for possession of marijuana and alcohol and sentenced to a year in a detention barracks. He returned to civilian life severely traumatized. As a result, the received wisdom is it's not worth listening to recordings made by Young after his discharge. This ...

440
Album Review

Lester Young: Centennial Celebration Lester Young

Read "Centennial Celebration Lester Young" reviewed by Andrew Velez


Although he'd lived a scant 50 hard years when he died in 1959, tenor sax giant Lester Willis Young was and remains one of the most vital and influential forces in jazz. He used words as singularly as he played, dubbing Billie Holiday “Lady Day"; theirs was an incomparable musical pairing and she returned the favor, calling him “Prez" for president. Prez proved to be the key link between the early jazz of Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins with the ...

688
Profile

Lester Leaps In... To His 100th Birthday

Read "Lester Leaps In... To His 100th Birthday" reviewed by David Amram


For Lester Young on his 100th birthdayI just went to a birthday celebration I will never forget. Maybe some in America have forgotten Lester Young, known as Prez (i.e., the president of the tenor saxophone), but people all over the world are still moved every time they hear the classic recordings of this giant. Prez was someone who helped change the face of jazz, and inspire people who listened to cherish the moments in their lives ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Video / DVD

Prez Day in the USA

Prez Day in the USA

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Today in the U.S., it's Presidents' Day, a federal holiday. First established in 1885 to pay tribute to America's first president, George Washington, the holiday became more inclusive in 1971, when the day celebrate all presidents. The shift was a result of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established more three-day weekends for workers. Here at JazzWax, it's a tradition to celebrated each Presidents' Day by showcasing Lester Young, whom Billie Holiday affectionately called “Prez" or “Pres"—short for president of ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Video / DVD

Lester Young on Verve

Lester Young on Verve

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Lester Young was born on August 27, 1909 and died March 15, 1959. Known as Prez or Pres (short for President, a nickname Billie Holiday gave him), the tenor saxophonist was famous for his cool and airy relaxed style that modernized the tenor saxophone. Instead of improvising with an aggressive, vertical chopping approach, his sound was more horizontal, like a flat rock being skimmed along the top of a still lake. As a result, his notes lingered and seemed to ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Video / DVD

Prez Day: Lester Young

Prez Day: Lester Young

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Today in the U.S. we are celebrating a national holiday honoring Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Originally conceived in the 1880s as a day of tribute to George Washington on his birthday, February 22, the holiday was moved to the month's third Monday in 1968 when Congress shifted most holidays to Mondays and decided to use this one to honor two presidents instead of one. Here at JazzWax, President's Day has a different purpose. On this day, we celebrate ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Video / DVD

Prez Day: Lester Young Clips

Prez Day: Lester Young Clips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Here in the U.S. today, the country is celebrating President's Day, a national holiday set up in the 1880s to cover both George Washington (22nd) and Abraham Lincoln's (12th) February birthdays. At JazzWax, we celebrate Lester Young, whom Billie Holiday nicknamed the President or Prez of the tenor saxophone. Whether or not you're familiar with Prez and his music, below are eight of my favorite clips that splendidly illustrate his art over time. In short, Prrez revolutionized the sound of ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Jazz Musician of the Day: Lester Young

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Lester Young's birthday today!

Lester “Prez" Young was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. He was the greatest improviser between Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong of the 1920s and Charlie Parker in the 1940s. From the beginning, he set out to be different: He had his own lingo; In the Forties, he grew his hair out. The other tenor players held their saxophones upright in front of them, so Young held his out ...

Brent Jensen
saxophone, alto
Jim Gailloreto
saxophone
David Bond
saxophone
Michael Adkins
saxophone
Bill Gati
saxophone
Marlina Teich
guitar and vocals
Harry Skoler
clarinet
Duncan Hopkins
bass, acoustic
Jackie McLean
saxophone, alto
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto
Jonny Boston
saxophone
Seth Kibel
clarinet
Greg Chako
guitar
Sharel Cassity
saxophone
Ori Dagan
vocals
Chris Gale
saxophone, tenor
Matthias Broede
harmonica
Charley Krachy
saxophone, tenor
Paul Pazzo Mehling
guitar, acoustic
Fred Spek
saxophone, tenor
John Purcell
saxophone, alto
Sue Lynch
saxophone, tenor
Milo Lombardi
saxophone
Harrison Argatoff
saxophone, tenor
Thomas Hamilton
saxophone, tenor
Richie Love
saxophone
The Jazz Bastards
band / ensemble / orchestra
Patricia López
saxophone
Andres Hayes
saxophone, tenor
Willie D
saxophone, tenor
Jacob Chung
saxophone, tenor
Eli Hershiser
saxophone
Clara Green
vocals
Gus Leighton
saxophone

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Classic 1936-1947...

Mosaic Records
2016

buy

Boston 1950

Uptown Records
2013

buy

The Pres

Jazz Anthology
2010

buy

100 Years - Forever...

Storyville Records
2010

buy

Centennial...

Original Jazz Classics
2009

buy

Pres And Teddy

Jazz Anthology
2008

buy

Videos

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