Lester Young has quickly become one of my all-time favorite tenor players. The price for this 4 CD box set alone makes it a must buy. However, the material here is first rate.
Lester Young's solo on Ad-Lib Blues with the Benny Goodman octet is worth the price of admission alone. Lester's solo breaks are amazing! The harmonic sophistication and "badness" Lester communicates on this track makes him sound 20 years ahead of his time. Ascending and descending minor thirds in half steps, swinging relentlessly, call to mind Jackie McLean or Wayne Shorter as opposed to Benny Goodman. If one doubted Lester Young was a genius before, this set should put to rest any doubts.
It is not overstating the case to say that without Lester Young modern jazz would sound entirely different. Charlie Parker was heavily influenced by Young. Thus, without Lester Young, the primary genius behind the evolution of Bebop would have sounded entirely different, or worse still, would have gone uninspired. Ornithology, a famous Parker tune, is quite evidently inspired by one of Young's solos.
This set is a great example of Lester Young and a wonderful introduction to his playing for the price. If the price is not prohibitive for you, I also recommend The Complete Lester Young Studio Sessions on Verve. I sadly do not own this box set, but I have many of the albums that comprise it. I know some think that the later Lester Young is not as worth listening to as the earlier. I disagree.
A relationship with the music of Lester Young will enrich your life. You should buy this set.
August 9, 2007A quite complete collection from which you can have a glimpse of the golden years of jazz and listen to the most representative works from a sax master
January 22, 2007This is an excellent collection, impossible not to like if this genre of jazz is what you are into. Lester Young is a very good sax player, he ranks right up there with the all-time greats. Enjoy!!!
July 10, 2006If you are making your first purchase of a Lester Young CD you really can't go past this one, especially if you want an overview of his playing in his prime years. This probably has his best recordings from the beginning in '36 to '49 with maybe a few ommissions here and there, but I'd be surprised if there is a better 'Prez' compilation out there for the first time listener. Good value for money too with 4 CD's.
January 20, 2006This four CD set is a comprehensive survey of Lester Young's career. The collection addresses the major phases of the tenor saxophonist's professional life and includes key performances. The first CD, "Lester Leaps In" (1936-1939) showcases Young in classic performances featuring vocalist Billie Holiday and pianists Teddy Wilson and Count Basie withWalter Page on bass, Freddie Green on guitar, and Jo Jones on drums. "Afternoon of a Basie-ite," (1939-1944) the second CD in the set, presents Young in Basie's Kansas City Seven as well as in Dickie Wells' band and as part of Billie Holiday's orchestra. Again, the performances are jazz classics. And they offer not only the Lester Young performances along with classic recordings of the Count Basie orchestra in its prime and Billie Holiday in hers. Disc 3, "Lester Leaps Again" (1943-1946) records Young with the Basie orchestra (again with the core rhythm section of Greene, Page, and Jones) as well as with his own group. It includes recordings with pianists Johnny Guarnieri and Nat Cole and drummers Sidney Catlett and Buddy Rich. The Young-Cole-Rich trio recordings are worth the price of the set. Disc 4, "Ding Dong" (1946-1949) doesn't reach the end of Young's career, but it does include performances that demonstrate that despite some reports he never lost the power and lyricism of the early years. The Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) recording (1949) with Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, and Flip Phillips show that even in his supposed decline he was always a force to be reckoned with. (His contemporaries said that despite his seeming lightness if he were given enough choruses Young would bury any competition.) This CD set is a tremendous bargain, particularly because it encapsulates so much great jazz. In this set Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson and Count Basie and other greats of the swing era are available in cleanly remastered recordings of classic performance. The accompanying booklet contains carefully prepared discography and commentary.
December 31, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(15 reviews)
