Lester Young

Lester Willis Young, nicknamed "Prez" (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Related Topics:
August 27 - 1909 - March 15 - 1959 - American - Jazz - Saxophonist

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Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi and grew up in a musical family. His brother Lee Young was a noted drummer, and several other relatives played music professionally. His family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana when Lester was an infant. His father taught him to play trumpet, violin, and drums in addition to the saxophone. He played in his family's band in both the vaudeville and carnival circuits. He left the family band in 1927 because he refused to tour in the US South, where the Jim Crow Laws were in effect.

Related Topics:
Woodville, Mississippi - Lee Young - New Orleans, Louisiana - Trumpet - Violin - Drums - Saxophone - Vaudeville - US South - Jim Crow Laws

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By the early 1930s he had settled in Kansas City. He rose to prominence in the Count Basie band by playing in a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the aggressive approach of Coleman Hawkins, the dominant tenor player of the day.

Related Topics:
1930s - Kansas City - Count Basie - Coleman Hawkins

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Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's band, but he received intense criticism and pressure to play like Hawkins. He soon left to play with the Andy Kirk band and he later returned to star with Basie.

Related Topics:
Fletcher Henderson - Andy Kirk

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Since Jazz already had a "King of Swing" with Benny Goodman, a "Duke" Ellington, and a "Count" Basie, Lester Young was known as Prez (short for president as in "The President of the Tenor Saxophone"), a name given to him by Billie Holiday (though some legends allege he had been called "Prez" long before even meeting her). He returned the favor by dubbing her "Lady Day."

Related Topics:
Benny Goodman - "Duke" Ellington - Prez - President - Billie Holiday

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Young was an eccentric, even by jazz musicians' standards. He drank alcohol and smoked marijuana daily. He dressed distinctively, especially in his trademark Porkpie Hat. When he played saxophone, he would sometimes hold the horn horizontally, like a flute. He spoke in a rococo and often inscrutable personal slang, famously referring to a narcotics detective or policeman as a "Bob Crosby," a rehearsal as a "molly trolley," and an instrumentalist's keys or fingers as his "people." and He is considered by many to be an early hipster, predating Slim Gaillard and Dizzy Gillespie.

Related Topics:
Alcohol - Marijuana - Hipster - Slim Gaillard - Dizzy Gillespie

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During World War II, Young toured with the Basie Band. In 1944, he and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles with the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army. Unlike many white musicians, who were placed in band outfits such as the ones led by Glen Miller and Artie Shaw, Young was put in the 'regular army' where he wasn't allowed to play his saxophone. Young was based in Ft. McClelland, Alabama when marijuana and alcohol were found among his possessions. The army also discovered that he was married to a white woman. Racist mistreatment followed and he was soon court-martialed. Young did not fight the charges and was convicted. He served one year in a detention barracks and was discharged in late 1945.

Related Topics:
World War II - 1944 - Jo Jones - Los Angeles - U.S. Army - Glen Miller - Artie Shaw - Racist - Court-martialed - 1945

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Since his discharge from the army, many jazz historians claim that his playing power took a nosedive. In truth, the last 14 years of his life proved to be the most productive for Young. He joined Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic and made a number of recordings under him. He appeared in the Granz-produced short Jammin' the Blues as well as the CBS special The Sound of Jazz. But by the late 1950s, his lifestyle had finally taken its toll on him. He largely stopped eating, began drinking heavily, & was suffering from liver disease. He died shortly after arriving in New York from a tour of Europe. Ironically, his old friend Billie Holiday died 4 months later to the day after his passing. Charles Mingus composed an elegant elegy, "Goodbye Porkpie Hat", for Young only a few months after his death.

Related Topics:
Norman Granz - Jazz at the Philharmonic - Jammin' the Blues - CBS - The Sound of Jazz - 1950s - Liver disease - Europe - Billie Holiday - Charles Mingus - Elegy

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Young's playing style influenced many of other tenor saxophonists. Perhaps the most famous and successful of these is Stan Getz.

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