2008 release containing 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 fr... more »om Norman Granz' Jam Session as a bonus track. Features accompaniment from Roy Eldridge, Lester Young, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, Teddy Wilson and others. Lonehill Jazz.« less
2008 release containing 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. Features accompaniment from Roy Eldridge, Lester Young, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, Teddy Wilson and others. Lonehill Jazz.
"This is one of the best later-Pres albums out there. People who say that the Pres of the 50's was just a shell of the Pres of the 30's and early 40's with Basie are proven wrong by this recording and many others. Pres has rarely sounded better and the fire that he plays with on "Gigantic Blues" and the soul that he puts into songs like "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is simply awesome.
This is Pres at his best. Highly recommended."
True Giants
Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 05/05/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What a gigantic group!
Still very much in their prime, many of these jazz giants are old musical and personal friends. For instance, Jo Jones (dm) and Freddie Greene (g) were a vital part of Basie's rhythm machine in the hay-day of Young's tenure with the orchestra; Eldridge (tp) and Young both participated in beautiful Teddy Wilson-Billie Holiday recordings, Young made a perfect quartet album with Wilson (p), Ramey (b) and Jones (Pres and Teddy); Jones and Young (at one number joined by Eldridge) were guests on Count Basie rightly famous "At Newport" reunion album (Count Basie at Newport, Roy played with Young on numerous other occasions as well (including JATP encounters and Young's swan song "Laughin' to keep from cryin'" ( Laughin' to Keep from Cryin') ...
Lester Young had some of his peaks in the 50s (check out also his work with Oscar Peterson from the period - With the Oscar Peterson Trio, particularly when surrounded by the likeminded jazz giants of the previous era and Vic Dickenson is another reason to get this gem: he plays really beautifully throughout this fantastic album... If you're into hot and gentle mainstream, into swing, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson...YOU MUST HAVE THIS!
Why did I wait so long to buy it, I keep asking myself in disbelief. Lyrical and ballad-oriented component of this album prevails and, since these artists have beautiful sound, this will make this album quite accessible to audiences who otherwise don't necessarily concentrate on jazz (for instance to the Diana Krall and Norah Jones crowd)."
Soulful to the last drop
Aditya Vedula | Princeton, NJ United States | 04/13/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lester Young was the kind of rare musician that could convey an entire world of emotion in just a couple of phrases and I fell in love with this CD the moment I heard the beginning of "I guess I'll have to change my plan". My growing Jazz CD collection numbers in the dozens now but this is one CD I always keep going back to."
Attention naysayers
M. Cryer | Denver, CO United States | 02/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anyone who doubts that Lester Young wasn't on top of his game after the 1940s needs to hear this album. That's all I will say; this album is worth every penny you'll spend."
Latter day Pres
Michael Palermo | 06/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"They didn't call him the President for nothing This recording is late in the game for Lester,but he is still in there swingin'. The sidemen aew wonderful, as is their musical rapport A great price for a jazz classic"