Of the people who had the biggest impact on jazz, Lester “Pres” Young (1909-1959) is, sadly, the one whose music is the least known. His recordings of the late 1930s and early 1940s...
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Of the people who had the biggest impact on jazz, Lester “Pres” Young (1909-1959) is, sadly, the one whose music is the least known. His recordings of the late 1930s and early 1940s probably had as much impact on all of jazz (not only saxophonists) as Bird and Trane did later—including their impact on young Bird and Trane! But in my experience, if people know Young’s music at all, it’s the Verve recordings of the 1950s, which—let’s face it—are in a quite different style than his early works, and often capture him in very poor shape. (There are also some high points, including some of my favorites. I’ll post more on this later.) If you are one of the many who only know those Verves, you are in for a shock—but a very pleasant one! And if you already know and love Pres’s early music, this might become your new favorite recording.
