Lester Young
A man of poetic sensibilities, tenor saxophonist Lester Young was the instrument's most influential figure in the pre-bop era. A featured soloist with the great Count Basie band of the late 1930s, Young scaled the heights on classic recordings of "Taxi War Dance" and "Lester Leaps In." Although some claim that mental and physical abuse while in the military cast a shadow on his postwar work, there is ample evidence on record of unabated brilliance up until his premature death in 1959. His solo work, characterized by a light sound, asymmetrical, behind-the-beat phrasing, and a startling sense of originality, remains unsurpassed in its depth and delicacy of expression.
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Albums
- (2007) Jazz At The Philharmonic, Frankfurt 1952
- (2007) Unique
- (2007) Body and Soul
- (2007) The Mop Mop Blues
- (2007) Empty Hearted
- (2006) Blue Lester: The Ultimate Lester Young
- (2006) In Washington, D.C. Volume 1
- (2006) In Washington D.C. 1956, Vol. 2
- (2006) In Washington, D.C. 1956 Volume Four
- (2006) Best Of Lester Young, The
- (2006) In Washington, D.C. 1956, vol. 3
- (2006) In Washington, D.C. 1956 Volume Five
- (2005) Timeless Lester Young
- (2005) The Masters Touch
- (2005) Lester Young Collates No. 2
- (2000) Laughin' to Keep From Cryin'
- (2000) Lester Young: Ken Burns's Jazz
- (1999) The Complete Lester Young Studio Sessions On Verve
- (1999) Lester Swings
- (1998) Ultimate Lester Young
- (1997) The "Kansas City" Sessions
- (1997) Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio
- (1995) The Complete Aladdin Recordings Of Lester Young
- (1994) Lester Young Trio
- (1994) Verve Jazz Masters
- (1942) The Complete Aladdin Recordings - CD1
- (1942) The Complete Aladdin Recordings - CD2
- (1940) This Is Jazz #26
Top Tracks
- Body and Soul
- It's Only a Paper Moon
- I Want to Be Happy (feat. Nat King Cole)
- Stardust
- Indiana
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