Here is Lester Young in 1946, after his stint in the army supposedly destroyed his creative powers, attacking --yes, attacking-- "I Found a New Baby" with such easy control that a casual listener might not realize how the song has been utterly transformed. His pianist, the remarkable Nat King Cole, feeds harmonic and rhythmic ideas to the saxophonist with such grace that one could believe the entire performance had been composed beforehand, except for the obvious underlying excitement. On ballads --all taken at Lester's favorite tempo --just the slightest bit slower than medium-- the two carry on a delicious, sophisticated conversation: Listen particularly to the consecutive takes of "I Cover the Waterfront" for an idea of collaborative discovery within the most familiar material. Young and Cole had recorded together in 1942, four splendid pieces for Aladdin Records, and this later meeting can only make you wish they had played together as a regular duo. My favorite is "The Man I Love," which begins apparently simply and gradually becomes more and more complex as Young and Cole gently but firmly prod each other toward deeper, subtle insights. Buddy Rich, known to most as a dominating drummer, shows (as he does on his Art Tatum sessions) that he knows when restraint is real strength. This collection is a testament to the power of masterful understatement.
September 7, 2008Great music, terrible sound quality. The sound is the absolute worst in my extensive collection of jazz CDs. From late 1942 until early 1944, The American Federation of Musicians, fearing the effect of radio on live performance opportunities, instituted a ban on recording in pursuit of a percentage on radio transmissions. Any unsanctioned recordings made throughout 1943 were poor owing to the fact that they were produced on portable disc-cutting machines and wire recorders, a precursor to tape. The 1943 "bootlegs" are rare and poor sound quality is the norm. (These four cuts are the only 1943 recordings I own.) Therefore, it is not surprising that cuts 11-14 are sub-standard. But what is the excuse for cuts 1-10 which the liner notes list as recorded in 1946? In a day when remastering restores sound quality, there is no reason for the poor quality of this CD. Young, Cole, Rich, Gordon, and Edison deserve better treatment! My advise: Wait until this is remastered before you purchase. Download a song or two now just to sample the terrific music.
December 1, 2007This album is an unqualified masterpiece. Lester Young is exceptional and this is a rare opportunity to hear Nat "King" Cole play pure jazz. People who know him from singing "Unforgettable" etc may have no clue just how great a piano player he was and how great his jazz chops were. These two are a perfect match, and among all of Lester Young's wonderful albums I tend to agree with the reviewer who said this is the best. A word on sound quality: one of the reviewers downgraded this cd to 3-stars based on what he perceived to be awful sound. He exaggerates. This is a five star album, and the pops and scratches make this sound like an older jazz record. Jazz doesn't need to be squeaky clean to be enjoyed. Many jazz listeners still buy LP's specifically to hear the kind of sound quality captured on this CD. You want great music? Buy this cd
April 12, 2007 |  | Great Music - Bad Sound Quality |  |
This album is great as all the previous reviews mention - and the music is excelllent as described. However, the sound quality is pretty bad, mostly it's the pops and scratches of the 78's these were recorded from (as noted in the CD literature). I am quite accustomed to listening to 78's and generally don't mind all the typical noise that comes from their wear and age, in fact I even like the noise as I feel it really adds to the quality of the 'old sound' of the music. In this case though all the pops and scratches actually impose on the music, often competing with it, at times even distorting the quality of instrumentation. Such a shame for such a lovely selection of music. I just have to believe their is some way the recording engineers could have reduced all this noise, from the sounds of it they didn't even try. Buy this at your own risk - it is music worth having, but be aware of the noise impositions that vary from moderate to worse from track to track.
March 8, 2007Lester Young is my favorite saxophone player and this is my favorite album of his. That wonderful Lester Young tone really comes through on this album. Pres' playing on songs like "Back To The Land" just puts chills down your spine. On top of Lester's great playing you also have two musicians who were superior players on their instruments and legends in their own right, and those are Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich. Nat King Cole, of course, was a great jazz pianist before he ever got into singing, but many people only know him as a vocalist. That's unfortunate, because there is a lot of great music that he made with his jazz trio. Of course, Buddy Rich is one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, and he could accompany on a ballad just as well as he could play with fire. With a trio as powerful as Young, Cole, and Rich it's almost impossible not to make great music.
November 7, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(8 reviews)