Facts about Lester Young
4 Good Links
BBC Radio: Lester Young
Career background and history from "the Beeb"NPR Archives: Lester Young
Nice collection of past articles (and audio clips) about YoungPrez & Lady Day: The Story of Billie Holiday and Lester Young
Tidy history of their connection, from Stanford's Riverwalk Jazz seriesAll Music Guide: Lester Young
A chatty bio, thorough discography and links to Young's contemporariesShare this:
Lester Young Biography
Lester Young’s innovative saxophone style had a large influence on other jazz greats in the mid-2oth century.
Nicknamed “The Prez,” Lester Young was particularly known for his work with the Count Basie Band during the 1930s and 1940s, and for his recordings with vocalist Billie Holiday. Young’s freewheeling style included holding the saxophone at odd angles; he often held it nearly horizontal.
Lester Young’s signature porkpie hat also was copied by generations of jazz musicians. Young and his contemporary Coleman Hawkins are often listed as the original twin towers of modern jazz saxophone.
Extra credit
Lester Young was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, but court-martialed for marijuana use and discharged the next year… Per Stanford’s Riverwalk Jazz series, Billie Holiday “gave Lester the nickname ‘Prez’ after President Franklin Roosevelt, the ‘greatest man around’ in Billie’s mind. Lester in turn gave Billie her famous nickname, ‘Lady Day.'”