Search - Count Basie :: Vol. 1-1939

Pre-War Pres: Lester Young before the Draft...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 01/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
A lot of ink has been wasted on the deleterious effects of Lester "Pres" Young's terrible experiences with the US Army during WWII. Some further thoughts:



Lookit--yes, Pres had a bad, bad time: he was drafted--which is a bad thing in itself; moreover, he was an artist, and artists don't always make good soldiers. Plus, he suffered racial prejudice--which is an extremely ugly and unfair thing. So, while he was struggling to make it through basic training, he had a little breakdown and spent some days in hospital--(the nominal exceuse was for severe blistering of his feet caused by ill-fitting combat boots and forced marching, etc. Ever afterwards his feet were always very sensitive, and he insisted on wearing very soft, crepe-soled shoes.) Just at this hospital time, he was caught with a little hemp, and was then put throught the ordeal of courts martial--a bad, bad time indeed.



But here's the point: it's been said over and over again that Young's army nightmare resulted in a dramatic change in his playing, and the ethos of his art overall. This is called the "broken man" theory. And to support this theory, these Basie tracks of 1939 are compared with Pres' tracks of 1942, etc.



I would argue that Pres was Pres, and that his later manner was already manifest in his early work with Basie, etc. Pres was always just as smooth and facile. The differences are that with Basie's band, Pres had to play a lot of unison horn-work, and shine in his little solos--plus he had to wear a uniform, which he hated. Even before the war, Pres wanted to break away from the big band scene in order to do small ensemble work--exactly as he was to do after his army disaster! Just check the tracks "Dickie's Dream" & "Lester Leaps In" with Basie's KC Seven....



This disc is highly recommended for examples of Pres' early work with Basie."

More great sides

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 03/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the third volume of Basie's complete recordings on Chronological Classics. The final run of Decca sessions is here, and then the first of the Vocalion/Columbia dates. The Deccas are better than the Vocalions: "You can depend on me," "Jive at five," and "Oh, lady be good" are all Decca sides, and they are the best cuts on the CD. The first Vocalion session was a small-group affair that featured some nice Pres on clarinet. This is another CD of essential Count Basie from the early years."