Lester Young/Roy Eldridge/Harry Edison: Laughin' to Keep from Cryin'

by David Adler
May 1, 2000

This 1958 all-star date documents Pres on his last legs, about a year away from death. His tone is faltering and his energy level is low — especially on the clarinet, which he plays on “Salute to Benny" and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me." But still, on “Gypsy In My Soul" and “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone," his entrances are pure Lester Young. One note and you know it’s him.Joining Lester are trumpet ...

Lester Young: In Washington, DC 1956, Vol. 4

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 1998

Some jazz critics contend that Lester “The Prez" Young went downhill after World War II, but don't believe it for a minute. The seminal tenorist (who died in 1958) continued to excel during the last years of his life, and one of the great things about his 1950s output is the fact that LPs gave him a lot more room to stretch out. Underscoring the excellence of late period Prez, this album is the last of four volumes documenting an ...

Lester Young, Oscar Peterson: Lester Young with The Oscar Peterson Trio

by C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 1998

I have liked the Lester Young small group recordings that I have heard. My introduction came with the four-LP Pablo series, Lester Young in Washington DC, 1956. These recordings were made toward the end of Young's life and contain some of his most ethereal playing.

I suppose I am also a child of the 1970s and prefer high fidelity to high history. These small group recordings have a better sonic quality than Young's Columbia recordings with Count Basie in the ...

Lester Young: Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio

by AAJ Staff
October 1, 1997

Many things have been dubbed “American classics" over the years: Corvettes, hamburgers, milkshakes, the New York Yankees, blue jeans. But perhaps the term “American classic" can be no more fitting than in describing Lester Young. A jazzman who came from Louisiana, was famous for his “Kansas City" sound, yet spent a great deal of time in Minneapolis, Young was as original as original can be. A peer of Coleman Hawkins, Young was one of the very few tenor saxophonist to ...