Lester Young with Oscar Peterson Trio

Young's maturity

A great artist in his exuberant, "Basieish" youth, Lester Young often proved that in his mature years he could add to the subtlety and feeling, without sacrifising any of the rhythmical power.
How could anyone ever have believed that his post WW-II years were a throwaway alltogether?

Here, propelled by Peterson's fine group, The Pres swings hard, starting with the mighty "Ad Lib Blues" but in the very next song, beautiful ballad "I Can't Get Started", shows the greatest strength of his playing on this CD. The name of the game is emotion, reached through mellodic innovativeness and rhythmical subtlety.

Interestingly enough, in the company of a more emotional Teddy Wilson on another masterpiece from the 50's (Pres and Teddy , Young showed a more robust side (a bit more reminiscent of his Basie days, perhaps because of Jo Jones' magnificent drumming on that date), although he sure did show plenty of emotion when playin with Wilson and Billie Holiday back in the 30's...

But here, where the rhytmical support is stronger(and less emotionally original than Wilson's playing on the cited CD), Young's tender side really blooms. Even the songs such as "Just You, Just Me" or "(Back Home Again in) Indiana" are treated more like than ballads than joyous swing they usually bring about...

All in all, this CD, as others have rightly said can measure up with the best in the history of jazz.... Just listen to "These foolish things" or any other gem from this masterpiece... April 3, 2007

Ethereal, Sweet @ Swinging

This Verve master edition is a beautifully done package and deserves a place in any music library as one of the bonafide classics of jazz recorded in 1952.
The sparse sweet nature of the jell of these musicians here is amazing stuff and for those new to Lester Young, an icon whose sax is one of the benchmarks of his genre,you won't be sorry because these recordings are a historical document comprising basically two 10 inch LP issues, an LP
and a couple of "sly curios" and banter with Oscar Peterson and his men.
The standards covered are transformed and when heard, the opening Ad Lib Blues composed by Young sets the next hour of this CD right.
Needless to say, Oscar Peterson is another piano giant and the total package includes booklet, all wonderfully remastered, and as the notes within say is a collection that ranks with Ellington's Okeh material, and Armstrong's Hot 5 and 7's..not that those are the only great times those men recorded..just as Young's work, they did not call him Pres for nothing. January 11, 2007

Sumptulicious

Just the kind of jazz recording that I look for. The sound on this remastered re-issue by Verve is wonderfully clean and clear. Sounds like you are right there in the studio. Zero hiss or background noise. Excellent liner notes too. Great job!

I can't really add anything about the playing by Lester and the crew that hasn't already been said. What's so nice to me about this particular recording is the great mix of musicianship.... they trade off leads so casually and easily, and make it all sound so effortless. Also... a nice blend of up tempo and more laid back tunes.

A fine disc for when you just want your ears to be happy. Recommended. November 4, 2006

Pretty great

This cd features some great swinging guitar work and excudes a feeling of rambling warmth. Listen to the samples and see if it's a good fit for you. February 22, 2006

Should be 6 Stars

This recording, made in the years that were allegedly not his very best, demonstrates absolutely that Willis Lester Young is indeed the President of the Saxophone. Young's effortless sweet swing flowing along with Oscar Peterson and highlighted with some great guitar work by Barney Kessel will hook you. A special bonus is the President's humor displayed in his vocalizing on Two to Tango. The re-master quality is excellent. There are lots of players who played more notes and had a "bigger" sound. Young was replaced by Coleman Hawkins in Basie's band partly because Hawkins blew louder. But for making every note count, wonderful melodic invention and great rythmic surprises, for absolute mastery of the horn, Lester Young takes second chair to none. Nearly every tenor player since the 30's has cited Young as an influence. Listen to this CD and you will know why. Buy it today and love it for a very long time. January 11, 2006

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