Customer Reviews

Lester Young Trio

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The important recordings on this CD are derived from sessions for the Lester Young Trio recorded in 1946. The trio is perfectly balanced. Prez is at the peak of his powers as is Nat Cole, recording as "Aye Guy." Prez and Nat Cole complement one another so well that one could argue that this is a classic collaboration for both musicians. Certainly, Young is as comfortable with Cole as he was with Teddy Wilson or Count Basie years earlier. The two derive obvious pleasure from one anothers' playing. The drummer is Buddy Rich whose pyrotechniques are understated, and his brush work is tasteful and appropriate throughout. This is great music from the bluesy "Back to the Land" to the upbeat "I've Found a New Baby." These recordings show why Young's tone and improvisational skills were the model for saxophone players. Prez swings throughout; the ballads are models of the genre. Cole's piano is lyrical, and his solos are precise statements, reminiscent of Earl Hines in their inventiveness and control. This is Nat Cole the pianist, before his apotheosis as vocalist. And he was among the best jazz pianists--as interesting as Bud Powell and the obvious model for such cats as Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, and Red Garland. These are excellent examples of Cole's playing. The solo on the second "I Cover the Waterfront" is elegantly tasteful. The interplay between Young and Cole is especially fine on this number, on "Somebody Loves Me," and "I Want to be Happy." The music is fine--masterful in the true sense of the word. This is an important collaboration--a valuable and important addition to any jazz library. For some reason, the disc has been expanded to include four tracks from a 1943 session featuring Dexter Gordon and trumpet player Harry "Sweets" Edison with Nat Cole. Good music, but I'm not sure why it's on this CD, except for Cole's playing and the obvious example of Young's influence on Gordon. Nevertheless, Young and Cole are masterful in the first ten tracks.

What is not masterful is the remastering of this material. At best the sound engineers should hang their heads. Verve should be producing the best jazz CDs around, but they seem to be consumately cynical I own a vinyl reissue of some of this material on a Verve bargain label (VSP) from the late 60s that doesn't have the surface noise and background garbage of this CD. The remastering is simply slipshod, and given contemporary technology, there is no excuse. Oho oho for polemic!!!

But the music is wonderful, and you forget the scratches and the surface noise and all of that stuff. Buy already!! Then listen.

The important recordings on this CD are derived from sessions for the Lester Young Trio recorded in 1946. The trio is perfectly balanced. Prez is at the peak of his powers as is Nat Cole, recording as "Aye Guy." Prez and Nat Cole complement one another so well that one could argue that this is a classic collaboration for both musicians. Certainly, Young is as comfortable with Cole as he was with Teddy Wilson or Count Basie years earlier. The two derive obvious pleasure from one anothers' playing. The drummer is Buddy Rich whose pyrotechniques are understated, and his brush work is tasteful and appropriate throughout. This is great music from the bluesy "Back to the Land" to the upbeat "I've Found a New Baby." These recordings show why Young's tone and improvisational skills were the model for saxophone players. Prez swings throughout; the ballads are models of the genre. Cole's piano is lyrical, and his solos are precise statements, reminiscent of Earl Hines in their inventiveness and control. This is Nat Cole the pianist, before his apotheosis as vocalist. And he was among the best jazz pianists--as interesting as Bud Powell and the obvious model for such cats as Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, and Red Garland. These are excellent examples of Cole's playing. The solo on the second "I Cover the Waterfront" is elegantly tasteful. The interplay between Young and Cole is especially fine on this number, on "Somebody Loves Me," and "I Want to be Happy." The music is fine--masterful in the true sense of the word. This is an important collaboration--a valuable and important addition to any jazz library. For some reason, the disc has been expanded to include four tracks from a 1943 session featuring Dexter Gordon and trumpet player Harry "Sweets" Edison with Nat Cole. Good music, but I'm not sure why it's on this CD, except for Cole's playing and the obvious example of Young's influence on Gordon. Nevertheless, Young and Cole are masterful in the first ten tracks... Buy already!! Then listen.

Lester Young is my favorite saxophone player and this is my favorite album of his. That wonderful Lester Young tone really comes through on this album. Pres' playing on songs like "Back To The Land" just puts chills down your spine. On top of Lester's great playing you also have two musicians who were superior players on their instruments and legends in their own right, and those are Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich. Nat King Cole, of course, was a great jazz pianist before he ever got into singing, but many people only know him as a vocalist. That's unfortunate, because there is a lot of great music that he made with his jazz trio. Of course, Buddy Rich is one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, and he could accompany on a ballad just as well as he could play with fire. With a trio as powerful as Young, Cole, and Rich it's almost impossible not to make great music.

Here is Lester Young in 1946, after his stint in the army supposedly destroyed his creative powers, attacking --yes, attacking-- "I Found a New Baby" with such easy control that a casual listener might not realize how the song has been utterly transformed. His pianist, the remarkable Nat King Cole, feeds harmonic and rhythmic ideas to the saxophonist with such grace that one could believe the entire performance had been composed beforehand, except for the obvious underlying excitement. On ballads --all taken at Lester's favorite tempo --just the slightest bit slower than medium-- the two carry on a delicious, sophisticated conversation: Listen particularly to the consecutive takes of "I Cover the Waterfront" for an idea of collaborative discovery within the most familiar material. Young and Cole had recorded together in 1942, four splendid pieces for Aladdin Records, and this later meeting can only make you wish they had played together as a regular duo. My favorite is "The Man I Love," which begins apparently simply and gradually becomes more and more complex as Young and Cole gently but firmly prod each other toward deeper, subtle insights. Buddy Rich, known to most as a dominating drummer, shows (as he does on his Art Tatum sessions) that he knows when restraint is real strength. This collection is a testament to the power of masterful understatement.

This album is an unqualified masterpiece. Lester Young is exceptional and this is a rare opportunity to hear Nat "King" Cole play pure jazz. People who know him from singing "Unforgettable" etc may have no clue just how great a piano player he was and how great his jazz chops were. These two are a perfect match, and among all of Lester Young's wonderful albums I tend to agree with the reviewer who said this is the best. A word on sound quality: one of the reviewers downgraded this cd to 3-stars based on what he perceived to be awful sound. He exaggerates. This is a five star album, and the pops and scratches make this sound like an older jazz record. Jazz doesn't need to be squeaky clean to be enjoyed. Many jazz listeners still buy LP's specifically to hear the kind of sound quality captured on this CD. You want great music? Buy this cd

This is not only one of Lester's best albums, but one of the best jazz albums out there. This should be a part of every serious jazz fan's collection. Pres plays with such emotion and such beauty in that warm, relaxed, wonderful tone that he is so well known for. But Pres isn't the only great player on this disc. The group in which he plays is a trio with Nat King Cole on piano and Buddy Rich on the drums. For a jazz fan, it doesn't get any better than that.

*
One of the `Three Tenors' Best . . .

The original `Three Tenors' of jazz were of course Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Lester Young.

(A `Second Generation' of the `Three Tenors' might include Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter.)

The Lester Young Trio (w/Nat Cole and Buddy Rich) is hands-down one of Pres's best sessions; and this remastered reissue is especially nice with facsimile LP liner notes and classic '50s original cover-art by David Stone Martin.

Recorded in Los Angeles during the joyous post-war period (1946), the tracks are all vintage standards.
(And it should be remembered that long before he was known as a vocalist, Nat Cole was one of the last of the great stride pianists.)

There is some surface noise from these 78-RPM transfers; however, considering the set's artistic value, enthusiasts won't let this artifactual contingency deter their relishment of these singular lines.

Combine with Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio and Pres & Teddy for Pres's best sessions.
*

This album is great as all the previous reviews mention - and the music is excelllent as described. However, the sound quality is pretty bad, mostly it's the pops and scratches of the 78's these were recorded from (as noted in the CD literature). I am quite accustomed to listening to 78's and generally don't mind all the typical noise that comes from their wear and age, in fact I even like the noise as I feel it really adds to the quality of the 'old sound' of the music. In this case though all the pops and scratches actually impose on the music, often competing with it, at times even distorting the quality of instrumentation. Such a shame for such a lovely selection of music. I just have to believe their is some way the recording engineers could have reduced all this noise, from the sounds of it they didn't even try. Buy this at your own risk - it is music worth having, but be aware of the noise impositions that vary from moderate to worse from track to track.

Great music, terrible sound quality. The sound is the absolute worst in my extensive collection of jazz CDs. From late 1942 until early 1944, The American Federation of Musicians, fearing the effect of radio on live performance opportunities, instituted a ban on recording in pursuit of a percentage on radio transmissions. Any unsanctioned recordings made throughout 1943 were poor owing to the fact that they were produced on portable disc-cutting machines and wire recorders, a precursor to tape. The war effort also interfered with pressing and sales due to rationing of raw materials. The 1943 "bootlegs" are rare and poor sound quality is the norm. The four cuts from 1943 are one group of only two recordings from this year that I own, the other being "The Original James P. Johnson Piano Solos" originally recorded by the renegade Asch label now remastered on Smithsonian Folkways.

It is not surprising that cuts 11-14 are sub-standard. But what is the excuse for cuts 1-10 which the liner notes list as recorded in 1946? In a day when remastering restores sound quality, there is no reason for the poor quality of these essential recordings. Young, Cole, Rich, Gordon, and Edison deserve better treatment! My advise: Wait until this is remastered before you purchase. Download a song or two now just to sample the terrific music.