Customer Reviews

Complete Aladdin Recordings

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This collection covers a wide time-span in Lester's recording life and one can see a vast difference from first to last. The "early" (1942) cuts, with Nat King Cole are nimble and swinging on Lester's part - a tribute to his innate time when you consider they were recorded minus drums. "Indiana" and "Tea For Two" are particularly brilliant: very much like his Basie+Billie period recordings a few years before but with a touch of the ethereal. It is a treat to hear Lester stretch for more than a chorus or two. The radical change in Lester came (NOT with the advent of WW11 as some reviewers suggest) AFTER Lester's return from his disastrous army stint in 1945. His timing never quite recovers and he tends to rely on his own cliches. That being said, there are moments of absolute genius and beauty in his 1945-1958 period. Thankfully this record captures his gorgeous 1945 rendition of "These Foolish Things" - certainly one of the great ballad performances in the history of jazz! Every phrase is a song itself. This alone is worth the price of the recording. "D.B. Blues" is also a gem of Lester's swing and beautiful sound.

After receiving my C.D. Lester Young I could not stop playing it. Lester was past his best when he made these recordings ( or so the experts will tell us) they must have missed these records.The soft tone ,those beautiful bent notes this is a two C.D. set not to be missed. Lester at his very best. Put this on your must buy list.

For a number of reasons, Lester Young's sound changed after he left the Basie Band. He changed the mouthpiece on his saxophone, resulting in a darker, lower tone; he suffered from disappointment and depression after leaving behind his buddies in the band for a career that never really took off afterward; his short stint in the army was a disaster; he was drinking and smoking more and more; and maybe he was just getting a little older and somber as well. The result is a collection of fragile, beautiful songs. Many fans don't care as much for this sound as they do for his early recordings, but for me, they are the most touching things he recorded. These are the successful recordings of his "dark" period, which fell apart during the fifties, making a mess of his career. But for this brief period, his genius really shines through.

Unavoidably, Lester Young's recorded output is compared with his pre-WWII recordings. While not in the same class, these recordings are still very good. The main difference may well be in the players supporting Lester Young. Many sidemen are effective rather than exceptional. On the other hand, the spotlite throughout these sessions is on Lester Young. While his playing has changed, as compared to the 1930s, it is hard to argue that the change is for the worse. He has just continued to develop, while remaining a great musician.

Lester had the Sound!

The Cool sound, before Stan Getz, before Miles Davis, Lester Young had the sound at the time when most sax men blew as hard as they could and moved their fingers as fast as they could Lester Young focused on lyric sound and tone. Billie Holiday called him "Prez", or The President of Sound, he was by far her best and favorite lead tenor but more than that, he understood her. Subtle. She sang behind the beat and Lester played the same way. He based his sound on the Bix Beiderbecke/Frank Trambauer from the 20's and early 30's. (Louis Armstrong claimed they were his primary influence too). Fletcher Henderson's wife would nag him and make him listen to Coleman Hawkins records to try to get him to play faster, with more force!

This is the Lester Young that I value most, especially the Nat King Cole Trio songs (with no drums). Nat is a revelation as a pianist, I'm used to his later pop vocals. Young was accused of being so cool, so laid back that he's been smoking Opium. He wasn't, but he does plays so relaxed he as if he were sounds high on something. That's just how he played, mouthpiece sideways, holding the horn up.

As is said elsewhere, Lester went in the Army during WWII, married a white woman and bragged about it (not a good idea at the time) and got the stuffing pounded out of him. He got caught smoking pot before he got sent to the detention and finally discharged.

When the fifties came, the Man in the Pork Pie Hat was seriously depressed, drank and smoked a lot of dope and was reduced to speaking in his own form of abbreviated slang code. When he heard The Cool Jazz players he claimed that they had stolen his sound, indeed early Stan Getz borrows a lot from Young, before Stan extended into more complex territory. Lady Day went to Young's funeral and died herself within four months. The jazz standard "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" was written as a tribute.

Youngs ballads and Swing tunes "Indiana", "I Can't Get Started", "Tea for Two", "Body and Soul" and "She's Funny That Way" may be the definitive performances. (My older CD has a different order, for some reason.) There is a lot of Lester Young out there, this album is my favorite. If you want to buy one Lester Young, this is it! Thoroughly enjoyable, relaxed Swing and Ballads. Songs with soul.

technical quality of the recordings is about as good as you might expect, considering the source is shellac 78's, digitally reprocessed.

This is a great set: a good place to begin, and would make a nice gift for almost anyone.

Lester Young might be looked at as a jazz legend and he has every right to be, he is name checked by some of the best players that ever lived, but I honestly don't see what the big deal was. Of all the other great tenor saxophonists around at his time, there are better ones who had far better saxophone tones: Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Budd Johnson to name a few. These players had a warm sound. Young's tone was very weak and feeble sounding. He also didn't have that many good melodic ideas. His music simply does nothing for me.

This is my honest assessment of him. It is only an opinion and should be taken as one. Nobody likes the same jazz musicians. It doesn't make me right or wrong.

Checkout Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster instead. They had a lot more expressive sounds than Young in my opinion.