Search - Lester Young :: Lester Dreams

Lester Young: the opium and whiskey years

mason williams | bloomington, in USA | 06/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The pre-war Lester loved his women, his cigars, opium when he could get it, and a good shot of whiskey. He also loved to toot that horn. Fortunately, someone was smart enough to capture it:)
These recordings are among Lesters first, 99% of them feature Count Basie. Other cats appear such as: Jimmy Rushing, Buck Clayton, Charlie Christian, Jo Jones, Teddy Wilson, Helen Humes, Freddie Green etc... but this is clearly Lester's show. The revolving door of vocalists really fleshes this thing out making it real hard to get sick of. 22 tracks, 71 minutes, 1936-1940, outstanding. This could be the soundtrack to a fantastic party, from the cover shot of Lester and his hand rolled smokey treat, I'm sure it has served as one or two or three..."