5 ear grabbing Lester Young solos you should know
Born on August 27th 1909, Lester Young ( “Prez” )was one of the giants of the tenor saxophone. In the swing era he staked his claim by being refreshingly different from his peers Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. Young’s sound was dancing, light as air and he played mellow ideas that for some were a harbinger of the bebop movement to follow. Young arrived in 1930’s Kansas City, a mecca of Jazz activity and played with various bands including the Benny Moten and Fletcher Henderson orchestras, and in 1936 he joined Count Basie’s ensemble. Young was one of the stars of Basie’s orchestra, and Prez’ solos, in his band, on his own and with Billie Holiday provide plenty of grist for study and transcription. Here are 5 ear grabbing Lester Young solos you should know.
Young’s style was an alternative to those who idolized Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and the approaches which firmly established them in the still blossoming Jazz vocabulary. Tenor players such as Stan Getz, Hank Mobley, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims were direct disciples of Young. Charlie Parker admitted that Young was a huge early influence, and big toned Dexter Gordon frequently liked to incorporate some of Young’s lines in his solos. Paul Quinichette, a most known for his Basie stint was nicknamed “Vice Prez” because his tone and lines uncannily resembled Young’s. A good example of hearing the Lester Young influenced tenor alongside more modern exponents like John Coltrane are the Prestige albums Tenor Conclave (1956) featuring Coltrane, Mobley, Sims and Cohn, in addition to Cattin with Coltrane and Quinichette (1957). Through players of that magnitude, Prez’s legacy lived and continues to burn brightly on.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.