1. Tea for Two
2. I Can’t Get Started
3. Body and Soul
4. Indiana
5. Just You, Just Me
6. I Never Knew
7. Afternoon of a Basie-tie
8. Sometimes I’m Happy
9. After Theatre Jump
10. Six Cats and a Prince
11. Lester Leaps Again
12. Destination K.C.
13. Indiana
14. Blue Lester
15. (I Don’t Stand A) Ghost of a Chance
16. Lester’s Savoy Jump
Tracks 1-4: Lester young (tenor sax); Nat
King Cole (piano); Red Callender (bass)
Tracks 5-8: Lester Young (tenor sax); Johnny
Guarnieri (piano); Slam Stewart (bass); Sid
Catlett (drums)
Tracks 9, 10 and 12: Buck Clayton (trumpet);
Dickie Wells (trombone); Lester Young (tenor
sax); Count Basie (piano); Freddie Green (guitar);
Rodney Richardson (bass); Jo Jones (drums)
Track 11: Lester Young (tenor sax); Count
Basie (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Rodney
Richardson (bass); Jo Jones (drums)
Tracks 13-16: Lester Young (tenor sax); Count
Basie (piano); Freddie Green (guitar); Rodney
Richardson (bass); Shadow Wilson (drums)
While Lester Young was developing his style,
Coleman Hawkins was the leading figure when
it came to the tenor sax. Bold, powerful and
crammed full of notes, his approach was copied
by numerous saxophonists, who added little
of interest to the sound. Young, however,
had different tone - light, sparse and highly
relaxed, with a tendency to float over bar
lines. Whilst technically skilled, and adept
at reading music, his sound was considered
to be so revolutionary that he didn’t
fit in in many of the bands he played with
in his early days. By the beginning of the
1940s, however - after leaving Count Basie’s
Orchestra - Young had developed a reputation
as one of jazz’s leading musicians, and
remains to this day amongst the most influential
saxophonists of all time.
This collection kicks off in 1942 with a number
of tracks recorded in a trio with Nat King
Cole and bassist Red Callender. ‘Tea
for Two’ provides a nice introduction,
setting the cool, light-hearted tone that
prevails throughout the rest of the work.
The trio gel magnificently together, displaying
beautiful rhythmic control and maintaining
a feel of quiet intensity. Young sounds relaxed
on the following ballads (‘I Can’t
Get Started’ and ‘Body and Soul’),
but plays with obvious thought and reflection,
rejecting unnecessary, clumsy embellishments.
Cole, throughout it all, is impressive - not
simply virtuosic, but tender and sensitive
too.
We then move on to December of that year,
when ‘Pres’ had one of his best
record dates. Joined by an excellent rhythm
section - pianist Johnny Guarnieri, bassist
Slam Stewart and drummer Sid Catlett - we
hear him in fantastic form, laid back as usual
but swinging hard. ‘Just You, Just Me’
oozes charm, with Young letting go on his
joyful runs, and filling each note with his
personality. Stewart and Guarnieri are also
impressive, particularly on their highly charismatic
solos. An amazing connection exists in this
group, which draws out consistently creative
work. Young’s performance on ‘I
Never Knew’ is his most expressive so
far, experimenting with the melodic structure
and challenging the rhythmic steadiness of
the piece. Catlett then adds to this new-found
freedom on his bold and inventive drum solo,
which Stewart fleshes out with intense interludes
of bowed bass and humming.
The other two sessions featured on the disc
have Young accompanied by various key members
of the original Count Basie Orchestra. With
trumpeter Buck Clayton and trombonist Dickie
Wells he leads the way through three originals
(‘After Theatre Jump’, ‘Six
Cats and a Prince’ and ‘Destination
K.C.’) that seep charisma and make no
disguise of the musicians having a lot of
fun. ‘Lester Leaps Again’, then,
shows him at his best, tackling the impressive
blues groove with tremendous ease and control.
It is Basie, however, who takes the tune in
to unexpected territory, filling his solo
with repeated phrasing and strange, fragmented
chords. This, in turn, causes Rodney Richardson
to really let go on bass, continuing to climb
and climb on his solo, soaring insanely high.
Forty days later, Young was back in the studio
playing another four numbers with a slightly
altered Basie rhythm section (drummer Shadow
Wilson had taken Jo Jones’s place when
Jones was drafted). ‘Ghost of a Chance’
is particularly notable for its strong sense
of mood and emotional depth. But it is Young’s
‘Blue Lester’ that illustrates best
how far the young saxophonist had come. Lyrical,
haunting and drenched in cool, it’s fantastic
melody sends shivers down the spine with each
unexpected turn.
So it seemed in 1944 that Young’s creativity
would continue to flourish - particularly
after he featured in the Academy Award-winning
film, Jammin’ the Blues. But the draft
board eventually caught up with him too, and
the next year proved an horrendous time; unable
to adapt to his new way of life, he found
himself locked in a military prison. Gradually,
Young returned to form - at least as far as
his playing was concerned. But depression
and excessive consumption of alcohol began
to take their toll on his health, and robbed
him of his zest for life. Whilst the 1950s
saw some high points, nothing compared to
this earlier work. As Scott Yanow puts it
in the album’s linear notes, ‘Some
of Lester Young’s happiest moments on
record are contained in this definitive collection,
taken from a musical golden age when Young
was truly the President of the tenor sax.’
Robert Gibson
CD Reviews
Naxos Jazz Legends, 8.120764
