A rare Lester Young performance of "Mean To Me" on "Art Ford's Jazz Party", September 25, 1958. Broadcast by Danmarks Radio. Sound portion originally released as Enigma 301.
My grandfather was a jazz musician and Lester Young was his hero. My grandfather had a photo of my father as a baby that was actually signed by Prez, wishing him a happy life. He had it in his wallet until the day he died. My mom gave it to me and I still have it to this day.
Lester was one of the fathers of modern slang! He was responsible for coining many phrases we've used over the years("you dig/ you understand" & "bread/money")! At 1:04 & 1:08 he was saying to the drummer, "A little TINKTY-BOOM" to get him(the drummer) to swing more! Just say "tinkty-boom" repeatedly along with the track & you'll see what I mean! Prez not only had the right notes but the right picturesque slang to desciribe what was going on and/or was needed to set things off!!
He was in a club to hear a musician that he admired. A group of young jazz musicians saw him and were all over him, heaping praise. When they were interfering with his enjoyment of the show he said to them: "I can't dig while I'm being dug."
His proverbial sense of time, his interaction with the rhythm section, his way of "talking" through the horn. Jazz is a conversation. Many current musicians may be technically impeccable, but they miss this crucial point. Lester's about burning fire, not fireworks!
My God, Lester Young literally reinvented the tenor saxophone. Before Prez came along, the way to play the tenor sax was the way Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster played tenor. But Prez played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies that influenced every saxophonist that came after him, from Charlie Parker to John Coltrane. Rest In Peace Prez 🙏🏾🎷
Featured in the band : Charlie Shavers (leader, and trumpet), J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), Pee Wee Russell (clarinet), Willie the Lion Smith (piano), Dickie Thompson (guitar), Harry Sheppard (vibraphone), Vinnie Burke (bass), Sonny Greer (drums-formerly of Duke Ellington’s band), and Mae Barnes (singer).
once he gets the drummer to find the damn pocket...Pres just swings right up the mountainside and over the top...and around 2:50...if had to define "swing", I would play that last series of riffs for the unenlightened...a few moments of rare beauty, power, and sly mastery caught forever...says there are 263,148 views at this time...and about 1000 of them are ME...thanks!
Amazing. Had never seen this before. I am surprised he played this strong in 1958. On the "Sound of Jazz" show he looked so frail. Gives us a feeling of what it must have been like hearing him on a club date with Count Basie with Lester's tenor soaring over one of the best bands there ever was.
Have listened to a lot of great sax players live Like Stan Getz etc Lester died before I was a teenager , he is my all time favorite though What a great musician and died way too young.
When I lived in NYC in the 90’s there was an annual Lester Young Memorial Concert at the jazz church on 52nd street. Coltrane gets perks for putting religiosity front and center in his playing, but Prez, especially frail Prez, has always spoke to me more directly.
He wasn't a alcoholic He used alcohol and cannabis as tools for connecting with people He died as he gave all his love without wanting anything in return
Lester Young wasn't only an amazing musician, he lit the rockets of the 20th Century US counterculture when he turned on Kerouac all the way back in 1943.
Remember seeing Willie & also Earl Hines on Johnny Carson when a child '60s. He loved and promoted jazz every opportunity. And I thank him for educating me.
Anyone wanting to hear how great Pres was should listen to any and all things recorded before World War Ii. His playing in the 50's ranged from uneven to very sad, but lo and behold on The Sound of Jazz TV program in, I think, '58, he got off a beautifully coherent chorus on one of Billie Holliday's signature tunes, and she did really well too, a case of two mortally wounded artiists inspiring each other to their greatest capacities. SO moving.
@@robertlepper5460 Listening--a lot! There's no need to get snarky. We both love Press after all! You have to read all of what I have to say. Given how little time was left to him, his work in "The Sound of Jazz" was heroic and beautiful.
@@MrKlemps I fully support what you say. That does not mean Les could not play first rate in his later years. Teddy Wilson recalls that one time, after Les had had no alcohol for several months, he played with his old verve and freshness.
@@wernerblaser5565 Thank you. I don't doubt it since genius has a way of working its way through the thickets. Quite possibly Pres had so much respect for Teddy and enjoyed playing with him so much that he forced himself off the hard stuff so that he could be at his best. And his best could be touched by no other sax player and very few on any instrument.
Pee Wee Russell and Les on the same stage. Two musicians who basically had the same approach to ballad playing (they also shared the same taste for beverages). Is there a FULL recording of this concert? Or does anybody know if they ever played together on records? I have not found any.
