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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 ...
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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 ...
read more
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 ...
read more
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 ...
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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 ...
read more
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 ...
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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 ...
read more
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 ...
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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 ...
read more
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 ...
read more