Five-Star Collection... Young and Peterson

Saxophonists come and saxophonists go but Lester Young swings on forever. There may be other tenor men with more technique, some of them even with as much swing, but for what Lester does, no one has ever matched it.There is hardly a tenor saxophone player today who can play an entire chorus without playing some Lester Young. One of the least talkative of jazz musicians, in public that is, he has, to go back a few years in jazz slang, spoken a book every time he has played his horn. He is not called "The Pres" for nothing.

He is!

When he first made the jazz world conscious of his horn, sliding gently out of the Basie sax section and swinging and swinging and swinging in front of the band, he set the definitive style for tenors. He was "cool" long before the world even entered the jazz dictionary. In fact, he probably put it there, as he has made more than his share of contributions to jazz slang.

One of the things that makes Lester's music so valid is the fact that his playing experience goes all the way back to King Oliver, and his musical sources, therefore, include the whole range of jazz. Lester Young is closing his second decade as a major influence in jazz. You can tell, when you hear the sides in this LP, why he has remained on top so long.

On these sides, the Pres is backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio (Oscar, piano; Barney Kessel, guitar; Ray Brown, bass) and the drums of J. C. Heard. With musicians of this stature to complement his playing, he is allowed full rein for his creative talents. *Nat Hentoff, 1954 (from the liner notes)*

Lester is backed on all of these by Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and J. C. Heard. It looks as if the President may have decided to seek another term. These are Lester's most consistently exciting records. (Even with the few flaws) in months. Much credit is due the magnificent support given him by Oscar and his contingent, but Pres himself seems fully and vigorously interested in what's going on, something that's not always been so recently.

Fortunately, several of the tunes go beyond the three-minute limit, so there's plenty of room for building up to a wail, and that's what happens. And such a beat all the way!

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, May 19, 1954 [5 stars]*)

Lester Young • Oscar Peterson

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio is a 1954 studio album by Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson's working trio of the time (featuring Ray Brown and Barney Kessel), plus drummer J. C. Heard. The music on this album was originally released as three separate albums: Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #1 and Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #2, both released in June 1954 (MGN 5 & 6), and The President (August 1954, MGN 1005). It was collated for this 1997 reissue by Verve Records.

Lester Young (1909-1959) was one of the all-time great tenor-saxophonists, a non-conformist whose floating cool-toned style was much different than that of the dominant influence of the 1920s and '30s, Coleman Hawkins. Young defied stereotypes in his life and his music. While it was once widely taken for granted that, after his horrific experiences in the Army during World War II, his playing was never as good again, that has been disproven by his best recordings of the 1950s.

Lester Young With The Oscar Peterson Trio is a real gem. Recorded in 1952, Young is joined by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer J.C. Heard on some of his favorite swing standards. Young, like Louis Armstrong, had the ability to slightly alter melodies for the better through his phrasing, and to make every note count.

Among the many highlights of this classic album are Lester Young's versions of "Just You, Just Me", "Almost Like Being In Love", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Star Dust", "I’m Confessin'" and "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love". An unusual bonus is hearing Young’s only recorded vocal, a witty if tentative "It Takes Two To Tango" that went unreleased for decades.

Lester Young and Oscar Peterson (who proves to be the perfect accompanist in addition to contributing many concise solos) brought out the best in each other throughout this essential release. *Scott Yanow (syncopatedtimes.com)*

1 - Ad Lib Blues

(Oscar Peterson, Lester Young)

2 - I Can't Get Started

(Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin)

3 - Just You, Just Me

(Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages)

4 - Almost Like Being In Love

(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe)

5 - Tea for Two

(Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans)

6 - There Will Never Be Another You

(Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)

7 - (Back Home Again In) Indiana

(James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald)

8 - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

(Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh)

9 - Stardust

(Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish)

10 - I'm Confessin'

(Doc Daugherty, Al J. Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds)

11 - I Can't Give You Anything But Love

(Fields, McHugh)

12 - These Foolish Things

(Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey)

13 - (It Takes) Two to Tango

[rehearsal, false start and chatter]

(Al Hoffman, Dick Manning) 

14 - I Can't Get Started

[false start]

Lester Young (tenor sax, vocals [#13]), Oscar Peterson (piano),

Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), J. C. Heard (drums)

Recorded in New York City, November 28, 1952

Five-Star Collection... Lester Young

Lester Young

The Jazz Giants '56

Imitation, as a wise man once put it, is never competition. Accordingly, imitation with neither understanding nor technique can bring woeful results to the young musician. To put the theory to test, no other saxophonist has had quite so strong an influence on modern-day tenor saxophonists than Lester Young, otherwise known as the "President". For many saxophonists, however, the influence has not necessarily been a good one, simply because the limitations have been merely surface.

To play a saxophone in the Lester Young manner requires — well, it requires a Lester Young, which is to say an artist with his roots immersed deeply in the mainstream of jazz. Or that failing, a musician with at least a feeling for jazz' muscular, swinging tradition. An error committed so frequently as to become commonplace finds the imitator concerned more with sound than substance.

The Lester Young sound is a very special thing, certainly, and with it is associated a kind of languor, a sophistication that often belies its basic blues foundation. But the guts of the blues — and its purposeful vigor — is also a vital part of the Young style. And without it, without this strength that is suggested rather than expressed boldly, the would-be Lester Youngs create little more than hollow, superficial and often quite banal mimicry.

The imitators could learn considerable from this album, entitled with justification The Jazz Giants '56. For in this one, Lester illustrates more graphically than ever just where the "Lester Young school" has been errant. By no means is this, as they say in the television commercials, a "new" Lester Young, but it is a Lester Young with a stronger approach than has been his very recent custom. The tone remains, lean and cool (in the best sense), but the vigor is unmistakable and the jazz ideas are, as always, fresh and imaginative. *(from the liner notes)*

The Jazz Giants '56 comprise Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Vic Dickenson, Jo Jones, Freddie Green, and Gene Ramey, and a better-knit assemblage would indeed be hard to conceive. As the notes point out, this is the first time Pres and Roy have recorded together, and for some 20 years, someone has been goofing.

This is one of the records of this or any other year, and it is difficult to imagine a group playing much better than this one gets on You Can Depend on Me. All the good qualities which we usually ascribe to jazz — vitality, swing, ingenuity, rhythmic variety, and impeccable improvisation — are present here. Rest of the tracks are not far below this remarkable level, and it is really unfair to pout out high spots, although the unvarying consistency of Roy and Pres should be mentioned. Especially note Young's opening statement on This Year's Kisses — it contains all the loveliness and feeling for music one could wish. Suffice it to say that this collection belong in any and every library.

The notes err, by the way in stating that Pres and Dickenson never have recorded together before — they appeared on some Philo sides under Pres' leadership a decade ago.

*Jack Tracy (Down Beat, May 30, 1956 [5 stars])*

1 - I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan

(Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz)

2 - I Didn't Know What Time It Was

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

3 - Gigantic Blues

(Lester Young)

4 - This Year's Kisses

(Irving Berlin)

5 - You Can Depend On Me

(Charles Carpenter, Louis Dunlap, Earl Hines)

Lester Young (tenor sax), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Vic Dickenson (trombone),

Teddy Wilson (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Gene Ramey (bass), Jo Jones (drums).

Recorded at Fine Sound, New York City, January 12, 1956