It's been another hectic month, what with all the holidays here and there, some travel, work, etc., but I hope to be more active here in the next few months. As it's a rather gray and questionable day out there, and I face the prospect of commuting at least an hour or more through an inevitable oncoming storm, I figured something with some bounce is in order. One of the best to bounce was Lester Young. From Allmusic,com, "This is the first leg of the Lester Young story, covering his exciting years as Count Basie's star tenor saxophonist and master of the metal clarinet. Opening with Young's very first appearances on record in 1936, the compilation boasts several vivid selections by the Count Basie Orchestra, examples of the gentle, relaxed intimacy of Billie Holiday and Pres with Teddy Wilson's band, and several outstanding instrumental small-group jams either led by or simply graced with the presence of Lester Young. These include the famous Kansas City Five and Six on the Commodore label, the Benny Goodman Sextet ("without Goodman" but with Charlie Christian), and various masterworks originally issued on both the Savoy and Keynote labels. There's no real adherence to a strict chronology -- the producers of this compilation were obviously aiming for playback textural ambience rather than concise sequential context. After wading into the cream of Young's work from the early '40s, the focus abruptly lurches back to the late '30s with vintage stomps and swing by Basie's orchestra and the Kansas City Six. Here, then, is a good introduction to Lester Young as he sounded in his prime. The only glaring fault occurs in the enclosed discography; the drummer on "Sometimes I'm Happy" and "Afternoon of a Basie-ite," recorded for Harry Lim's Keynote label in December of 1943, was Sidney Cattlet, not Jo Jones." Scan of the discography is at the bottom of the post. Enjoy! +
Tracks
01. Shoe Shine Boy
02. Lady Be Good
03. Roseland Shuffle
04. Swinging The Blues
05. Taxi War Dance
06. This Year's Kisses
07. I'll Never Be The Same
08. I've Found A New Baby
09. Lester Leaps In
10. Ad Lib Blues
11. Sometimes I'm Happy
12. Afternoon Of A Basie-Ite
13. Lester Leaps Again
14. I Got Rhythm
15. Four O'Clock Drag
16. Jo-Jo
17. I Don't Stand The Ghost Of A Chance With You
18. Blue Lester
19. Jump, Lester, Jump
20. Texas Shuffle
21. I Ain't Got Nobody (And There's Nobody Cares For Me)
22. I Want A Little Girl
23. Pagin' The Devil
24. Twelfth Street Rag
