A rare Lester Young performance of "Mean To Me" on "Art Ford's Jazz Party", September 25, 1958. Broadcast by Danmarks Radio. Sound portion originally released as Enigma 301.
My grandfather was a jazz musician and Lester Young was his hero. My grandfather had a photo of my father as a baby that was actually signed by Prez, wishing him a happy life. He had it in his wallet until the day he died. My mom gave it to me and I still have it to this day.
Lester was one of the fathers of modern slang! He was responsible for coining many phrases we've used over the years("you dig/ you understand" & "bread/money")! At 1:04 & 1:08 he was saying to the drummer, "A little TINKTY-BOOM" to get him(the drummer) to swing more! Just say "tinkty-boom" repeatedly along with the track & you'll see what I mean! Prez not only had the right notes but the right picturesque slang to desciribe what was going on and/or was needed to set things off!!
He was in a club to hear a musician that he admired. A group of young jazz musicians saw him and were all over him, heaping praise. When they were interfering with his enjoyment of the show he said to them: "I can't dig while I'm being dug."
His proverbial sense of time, his interaction with the rhythm section, his way of "talking" through the horn. Jazz is a conversation. Many current musicians may be technically impeccable, but they miss this crucial point. Lester's about burning fire, not fireworks!
Amazing. Had never seen this before. I am surprised he played this strong in 1958. On the "Sound of Jazz" show he looked so frail. Gives us a feeling of what it must have been like hearing him on a club date with Count Basie with Lester's tenor soaring over one of the best bands there ever was.
once he gets the drummer to find the damn pocket...Pres just swings right up the mountainside and over the top...and around 2:50...if had to define "swing", I would play that last series of riffs for the unenlightened...a few moments of rare beauty, power, and sly mastery caught forever...says there are 263,148 views at this time...and about 1000 of them are ME...thanks!
Featured in the band : Charlie Shavers (leader, and trumpet), J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), Pee Wee Russell (clarinet), Willie the Lion Smith (piano), Dickie Thompson (guitar), Harry Sheppard (vibraphone), Vinnie Burke (bass), Sonny Greer (drums-formerly of Duke Ellington’s band), and Mae Barnes (singer).
My God, Lester Young literally reinvented the tenor saxophone. Before Prez came along, the way to play the tenor sax was the way Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster played tenor. But Prez played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies that influenced every saxophonist that came after him, from Charlie Parker to John Coltrane. Rest In Peace Prez 🙏🏾🎷
Have listened to a lot of great sax players live Like Stan Getz etc Lester died before I was a teenager , he is my all time favorite though What a great musician and died way too young.
When I lived in NYC in the 90’s there was an annual Lester Young Memorial Concert at the jazz church on 52nd street. Coltrane gets perks for putting religiosity front and center in his playing, but Prez, especially frail Prez, has always spoke to me more directly.
Lester Young wasn't only an amazing musician, he lit the rockets of the 20th Century US counterculture when he turned on Kerouac all the way back in 1943.
Remember seeing Willie & also Earl Hines on Johnny Carson when a child '60s. He loved and promoted jazz every opportunity. And I thank him for educating me.
He wasn't a alcoholic He used alcohol and cannabis as tools for connecting with people He died as he gave all his love without wanting anything in return
Pee Wee Russell and Les on the same stage. Two musicians who basically had the same approach to ballad playing (they also shared the same taste for beverages). Is there a FULL recording of this concert? Or does anybody know if they ever played together on records? I have not found any.
Anyone wanting to hear how great Pres was should listen to any and all things recorded before World War Ii. His playing in the 50's ranged from uneven to very sad, but lo and behold on The Sound of Jazz TV program in, I think, '58, he got off a beautifully coherent chorus on one of Billie Holliday's signature tunes, and she did really well too, a case of two mortally wounded artiists inspiring each other to their greatest capacities. SO moving.
@@robertlepper5460 Listening--a lot! There's no need to get snarky. We both love Press after all! You have to read all of what I have to say. Given how little time was left to him, his work in "The Sound of Jazz" was heroic and beautiful.
@@MrKlemps I fully support what you say. That does not mean Les could not play first rate in his later years. Teddy Wilson recalls that one time, after Les had had no alcohol for several months, he played with his old verve and freshness.
@@wernerblaser5565 Thank you. I don't doubt it since genius has a way of working its way through the thickets. Quite possibly Pres had so much respect for Teddy and enjoyed playing with him so much that he forced himself off the hard stuff so that he could be at his best. And his best could be touched by no other sax player and very few on any instrument.
My grandfather was a jazz musician and Lester Young was his hero. My grandfather had a photo of my father as a baby that was actually signed by Prez, wishing him a happy life. He had it in his wallet until the day he died. My mom gave it to me and I still have it to this day.
Lester was one of the fathers of modern slang! He was responsible for coining many phrases we've used over the years("you dig/ you understand" & "bread/money")! At 1:04 & 1:08 he was saying to the drummer, "A little TINKTY-BOOM" to get him(the drummer) to swing more! Just say "tinkty-boom" repeatedly along with the track & you'll see what I mean! Prez not only had the right notes but the right picturesque slang to desciribe what was going on and/or was needed to set things off!!
JCsaxophile Prez invented hip/jazz slang, he was the man. his girl was Billie
Another musician who invented a lot of hipster slang was Cab Calloway!
He was in a club to hear a musician that he admired. A group of young jazz musicians saw him and were all over him, heaping praise. When they were interfering with his enjoyment of the show he said to them: "I can't dig while I'm being dug."
Definitely started swinging a lot more after that instruction. Then when the horn chorus came in...dynamite.
THE WORD GIG WAS MY UNCLE LESTER'S INVINTION
What a clip.
Probably the best there is of Lester Young?
Can easily move a grown man to tears.
It does indeed
The smoothness just pours from this man. He was the coolest cat to ever exist. Thanks for existing lester....
i don't know how many times i've listened to this but never ceases to move me; it's a blessing that it exists. thank yo for posting
when listening to this recording one can hear where Stan Getz and Dexter Gordon learned to improvise
It's like what Dizzy said about Armstrong -- "no him, no me."
And for sure they learned it well!
I hear his influence in Charlie Parker's playing too...
“Tinkly-Boom”. Got the message across short and sweetly. That’s pure Lester!
listed to this song day for months. just heard it again after not hearing it for a few months and it make my hair stand on end all over again
Lester Young-The President of the Sax
arguably the world most soulful performance
His proverbial sense of time, his interaction with the rhythm section, his way of "talking" through the horn. Jazz is a conversation. Many current musicians may be technically impeccable, but they miss this crucial point. Lester's about burning fire, not fireworks!
Amazing piece of music by all measures
Devine Thank You
Priceless clip. What an amazing soloist. He says so much with every note. Just too cool.
Very moving. The art of jazz.
I dug the head-riff in the last chorus - it couldn't have been arranged better -
Long Live Lester Young -
Amazing. Had never seen this before. I am surprised he played this strong in 1958. On the "Sound of Jazz" show he looked so frail.
Gives us a feeling of what it must have been like hearing him on a club date with Count Basie with Lester's tenor soaring over one of the best bands there ever was.
once he gets the drummer to find the damn pocket...Pres just swings right up the mountainside and over the top...and around 2:50...if had to define "swing", I would play that last series of riffs for the unenlightened...a few moments of rare beauty, power, and sly mastery caught forever...says there are 263,148 views at this time...and about 1000 of them are ME...thanks!
WOW THIS IS A MUST SEE
Happy Happy 110th Birthday Prez! You are so missed! The best of the sax players! Man you are missed and you sure could blown that horn!!!!
The president of the Sax nation will blow forever!!!! Blow, Pres, Blow!!
Featured in the band : Charlie Shavers (leader, and trumpet), J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), Pee Wee Russell (clarinet), Willie the Lion Smith (piano), Dickie Thompson (guitar), Harry Sheppard (vibraphone), Vinnie Burke (bass), Sonny Greer (drums-formerly of Duke Ellington’s band), and Mae Barnes (singer).
My God, Lester Young literally reinvented the tenor saxophone. Before Prez came along, the way to play the tenor sax was the way Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster played tenor. But Prez played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies that influenced every saxophonist that came after him, from Charlie Parker to John Coltrane.
Rest In Peace Prez 🙏🏾🎷
The Basie said Pres was a Stylist and when you're a Stylist you're something else!
Wow! Great piece of history here. Thank you!
more feeling in a moment than most music has in hours.
Yeah, Cary
“Tinkty Boom” = “change from brushes to sticks, drummer Sonny Greer” (formerly of Duke Ellington’s band) in Prez-speak.
about six months left to live and playing like god on earth
So much freedom with the rhythm, and that's exactly what makes it so, sooooo damn cool to listen. Well, Genius I guess...
Missed his born day by one day. Today is Aug. 28, 2019. Lester and Billie recorded this song in 1937. It's a classic.
Just Les inventing new melodies again. He was the man...
Great melodic lines he displays, and very good command of his instrument.
A true artist for sure
BRILLIANT .He was an inovator
Pure magic!!...I would loved to have heard a pairing of Prez and Pee Wee Russell, two of the greatests poets of jazz.
Chu Berry
Have listened to a lot of great sax players live Like Stan Getz etc
Lester died before I was a teenager , he is my all time favorite though
What a great musician and died way too young.
elegancia...respeto...y sincera alegría.Thanks and keep shining.
When I lived in NYC in the 90’s there was an annual Lester Young Memorial Concert at the jazz church on 52nd street. Coltrane gets perks for putting religiosity front and center in his playing, but Prez, especially frail Prez, has always spoke to me more directly.
Così lieve, così poetico, così dolente, così meravigliosamente elegante. Pres, y love you.
Great!!! Many thanks for that!
One of the greatest sax players, among the greatests.
this music makes me happy!
Happy birthday, President!
"a little ticky boom-one stick,ya dig".You hear the accentuations then with the stick on the snare.IMO
he shaped the notes like no other
The best saxophone player of all time.
Yes, indeed
Oh man the Prez. There'll never be another.
Uno de los más grandes saxofonista de la historia del jazz y con eso poco más puedo añadir
' If you don't play like Lester, you're wrong'. A quote from Brew Moore.
Interesting. You could hear Lester in Brew. Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh were both heavily influenced by Prez.
wonderful footage, thanks for posting
Lester Young , I love you!
This is the only and one Prez !
Thousands of stars.
xF
Well, today is Aug.23.2022 Happy early-born day Pres. Lester, in those 3 short minutes let the world see why he is a saxophone immortal.
One can see Lester growing from chorus to chorus!
many thanks
Thanks for posting.
"Chicky boom-one stick, dig it".We have had many presidents -only on Prez.
Nikt nie będzie grał jak Prez 😅❤😂
So cool...too cool for school, daddy-o's !
I love the little intro. to this by the announcer (?)... Says it all...
That was Basie from a separate interview.
The "Pres" 💯🎷
Lester Young wasn't only an amazing musician, he lit the rockets of the 20th Century US counterculture when he turned on Kerouac all the way back in 1943.
When I was a young college student I was told that I wasn't " well read", so I read their books including On The Road, what a steaming pile of turd.
No .momento Lester é minha maior incidência
Geniusz Lester a Lady Day go kochała 😊😅❤❤
이런 흑백 티비에서 나오는 재즈 넘 좋음...
Lester the best and the better
Ren guld!
Every solo a song. Prez. In subsequent eras of ‘sheets of sound’ and rabble-rousing, Prez keeps us honest.
On piano, the one and only Willie "The Lion" Smith!
Remember seeing Willie & also Earl Hines on Johnny Carson when a child '60s. He loved and promoted jazz every opportunity. And I thank him for educating me.
This is about a year before Lester's sad death @49 yrs from alcoholism. When you know this, you can tell how aged he had become from his illness.
He wasn't a alcoholic
He used alcohol and cannabis as tools for connecting with people
He died as he gave all his love without wanting anything in return
Legends.....🎼❤️
Lester swingin' like crazy
the goat
Thank You!!!! : )
Le meilleur cela nous prend au coeur comme lui seul sait le faire
Prez & Coleman Hawkins...the gold standard of the saxophone!!
Prez i Lady Day wypełniali się cudownie
The Prez🙏🏼😢😢
Grande grande sax grazie
Contrary to some Lester and Billie were still great even late.
さすがの貫禄。
Eiichi Ohmori
From Akihabara Tokyo Japan
Tragically, Lester was dead not quite 6 months after this amazing performance....
Sonny Rollins said Lester invented cool.
Pee Wee Russell and Les on the same stage. Two musicians who basically had the same approach to ballad playing (they also shared the same taste for beverages). Is there a FULL recording of this concert? Or does anybody know if they ever played together on records? I have not found any.
The Pres is awesome!
Gracias por compartirlo.
Wonderful, many thanks! Pee Wee Russell on clarinet.
On the guitar, the late, great Dickie Thompson!
Dickie Thompson changed my life!
And look who is singing'" Papapeda" in the backround at the ending with the trumpets and trombones.!
Top of the tenor pyramid.
❤️
Anyone wanting to hear how great Pres was should listen to any and all things recorded before World War Ii. His playing in the 50's ranged from uneven to very sad, but lo and behold on The Sound of Jazz TV program in, I think, '58, he got off a beautifully coherent chorus on one of Billie Holliday's signature tunes, and she did really well too, a case of two mortally wounded artiists inspiring each other to their greatest capacities. SO moving.
Is your opinion based on having listened to his later work or just a lazy regurgitation of other people's opinions?
I love Pres's 50s playing. The albulm Pres and Teddy is awesome.
@@robertlepper5460 Listening--a lot! There's no need to get snarky. We both love Press after all! You have to read all of what I have to say. Given how little time was left to him, his work in "The Sound of Jazz" was heroic and beautiful.
@@MrKlemps I fully support what you say. That does not mean Les could not play first rate in his later years. Teddy Wilson recalls that one time, after Les had had no alcohol for several months, he played with his old verve and freshness.
@@wernerblaser5565 Thank you. I don't doubt it since genius has a way of working its way through the thickets. Quite possibly Pres had so much respect for Teddy and enjoyed playing with him so much that he forced himself off the hard stuff so that he could be at his best. And his best could be touched by no other sax player and very few on any instrument.
The drummer didnt get it though.. Shavers had to go and tell him..
Nice eyes Pres.
In just 6 months, March 15, 1959, Lester would die. This is probably the last video or film of the President.
@frederikolsen So, thanks Dad! :-)
Tell him that this is one of the most important jazz videos on earth!
Prez yeaa..
@mikelz777 I think you're right: after that, the drummer leaves brushes and switches on sticks.
Really evokes Kansas City sometime in the 30s
@anicetocecchetti
I've seen this video once before elsewhere. Lester is asking the drummer to play in the style he's used to.
GOOD STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!