The Bebop Shop : Artistry In Rhythm: Early Jazz, Big Bands & Swing : Lester Young
The cream of Lester Young's recording career (1936-49), with selections from Young as soloist with Count Basie's orchestra, and his own quartets and quintets. Included is work with singer Billie Holiday; swing musicians, like Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, and Dickie Wells; and bopster Charlie Parker---the latter in two concluding jam sessions from Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts of 1949. Young's legato style, laconic and coolly detached, offers a lightness of sound and horizontal approach to improvisation---transforming melodies---which epitomizes modern jazz saxophone. Young, the musician's hip saint and "President" of jazzmen, is splendidly represented here, in this superbly annotated, boxed 4-CD set. Another bargain collection from Proper. (Andrew Clark, Editor, Riffs & Choruses: A New Jazz Anthology. Continuum Publishing.) Price: £15.49
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, Definitive have included the other studio session (8 tracks) by Lester with Nat King Cole & Buddy Rich, recorded for Norman Granz for his label Norgran in 1946. (Discovery Records)
A BEBOP SHOP MILESTONE- An essential recording for your jazz CD shelf Price: £16.99
