Lester Young

This edition contains tenor saxophonist Lester Young's complete Jazz Giants '56 septet session accompanied by some of the finest swing musicians of the period. In addition, we have added a star-studded 27-minute blues from Norman Granz' Jam Session as a bonus track.

Includes 12-page comprehensive booklet!

01 I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO CHANGE MY PLAN 9:26
02 I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS 10:01 03 GIGANTIC BLUES 6:50
04 THIS YEAR’S KISSES 6:45
05 YOU CAN DEPEND ON ME 9:01
06 FUNKY BLUES NO. 2 27:35 (*)
Total Time: 69:39 (*) Bonus Track

Lester Young (ts)
Roy Eldridge (tp)
Vic Dickenson (tb)
Teddy Wilson (p)
Freddie Green (g)
Gene Ramey (b)
Jo Jones (d)

New York, January 12, 1956.

(*) Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie (tp), Bill Harris (tb) Buddy DeFranco (cl), Flip Phillips (ts), Oscar Peterson (p) Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Louie Bellson (d)
Hollywood, California, October 30, 1954.

“In those days before hearing Charlie Parker and Dizzy, my first jazz hero ever – jazz improviser hero – was Lester Young. I was a big "Lester Young-oholic," and all of my buddies were Lester Young-oholics. We'd get together and dissect, analyze, discuss, and listen to Lester Young's solos for hours and hours and hours. He was our god.
“What struck me about Lester Young then, and still does after all these years, was his maverick approach to tenor sax improvisation. He marched to the beat of his own drum.

After two or three notes, you'd know, ‘That's Lester Young!’ It could be no one else, 'cause his playing had a persona that was uniquely Lester Young.” – J.J. Johnson