The Bebop Shop : Artistry In Rhythm: Early Jazz, Big Bands & Swing : Lester Young
These small group recordings collected together some of the finest talents of the era, including Buck Clayton (trumpet), Dicky Wells (trombone), Joe Bushkin (piano), Freddie Green (guitar) and Jo Jones (drums). (Proper Music) Price: £11.99
Lester Young, tenor sax on all tracks - with : Willie Smith (as), Howard McGhee (tp),Vic Dickenson (tb), Nat King Cole, Joe Albany, Dodo Marmarosa (p), Chuck Wayne, Dave Barbour (g), Red Callender (b), Chico Hamilton, Roy Haynes, Tiny Kahn (d), among others.
As a bonus to the Aladdin sessions, also included is the studio session (8 tracks) by Lester with Nat King Cole & Buddy Rich, recorded for Norman Granz for his label Norgran in 1946.
A BEBOP SHOP MILESTONE- An essential recording for your jazz CD shelf Price: £17.99
Finally and not before time (you might say), AVID welcomes one of the true giants of jazz to its catalogue, Mr Lester Young, or "Pres" (as named by his long-time friend and musical collaborator, Billie Holiday), as he was known to fellow musicians and fans alike. There is not much to say about Lester Young that has not been said before, he was certainly one of the most influential jazz musicians who ever lived and he really did exemplify the image of the cool jazz musician with his heavy lidded appearance, his famed pork pie hat and the ever present, fag smoke wafting into view. His playing was cool and mellow and brilliant and we have chosen to highlight it in our four albums where he can be heard in collaboration with other great musicians including Oscar Peterson, Buddy Rich, Nat King Cole, Teddy Wilson and Harry "Sweets" Edison. The list of players he has influenced would have to include Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Al Cohn and Paul Quinichette.(AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99