My cover isn't the one on the wikipedia page. This album came out in 1955. My mother was 8.
Ruby is painting today and I put this on to start her out. This is probably one of my top jazz CDs played. Along with Kind of Blue, Sunday at the Vanguard, and my collection of Billie Holiday with Lester Young (Pres), and my Monk collection, Coltrane collection and my Parker collection, Armstrong's hot five and seven, and Ella.
I never really listened to Harry Edison on Trumpet (1915-1999), who is Sweets.
Lester Young (1909-1959) is the real star here, I think. "Charlie [Parker] was shy of hipster elaborations. He added nothing to the vocabulary, as did Lester Young, one of the great hip verbalists." Russell, Ross (1973). Bird Lives: The High Life and Hard Times of Charlie (Yardbird) Parker.
"While growing up in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, he worked from the age of five to make money for the family." (Wikipedia)
"In September 1944, Young and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles with the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army. Unlike many white musicians, who were placed in band outfits such as the ones led by Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw, Young was assigned to the regular army where he was not allowed to play his saxophone." (W) He was court martialed for for possessing marijuana, among other things. "He served one traumatic year in a detention barracks" (W)
Lester married three times. Hey, that's how many times I've been married.
On December 8, 1957, Young appeared with Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan in the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz, performing Holiday's tune "Fine and Mellow." It was a reunion with Holiday, with whom he had lost contact over the years. She was also in physical decline, near the end of her career, yet they both gave moving performances. Young's solo was brilliant, acclaimed by some observers as an unparalleled marvel of economy, phrasing and extraordinarily moving emotion; Nat Hentoff, one of the show's producers, later commented, "Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard...in the control room we were all crying.
"According to jazz critic Leonard Feather, who rode with Holiday in a taxi to Young's funeral, she said after the services, "I'll be the next one to go." Holiday died four months later on July 17, 1959 at age 44." (w) Lester Young was 49 when he died.
Oscar Peterson (1925-2009) is of course a giant on the piano as well. Peterson was married four times. He has 7 Grammys. He played with everyone.
Ray Brown (1926-2002) is also a legend on base, played with everyone including Steely Dan. He was married to Ella Fitzgerald, the most amazing vocalist IMHO in any genre. He has a Grammy.
Buddy Rich (1917-1987) was a drums. "Rich was notoriously short-tempered. Singer Dusty Springfield slapped him after several days of "putting up with Rich's insults and show-biz sabotage". He held a rivalry with Frank Sinatra which sometimes ended in brawls when both were members of Tommy Dorsey's band. Nevertheless, they remained lifelong friends, and Sinatra delivered a eulogy at Rich's funeral in 1987. In 1983, Rich underwent quadruple bypass surgery, and was often visited by Sinatra in the hospital" (w)
"According to bassist Bill Crow, Rich reacted strongly to Max Roach's increasing popularity when he was the drummer for Charlie Parker, especially when a jazz critic stated Roach had topped Rich as the world's greatest drummer." (w)
Rich cited Gene Krupa, Jo Jones, Chick Webb, Ray McKinley, Ray Bauduc and Sid Catlett as influences.
Herb Ellis (1921-2010) on guitar. "Ellis gave cartoonist and The Far Side creator Gary Larson guitar lessons, in exchange for the cover illustration for the album, Doggin' Around (1988)"
Birthplaces. How they died
Edison-Columbus Ohio. Prostate cancer
Young-Mississippi. "Alcohol related"
Peterson-Montreal. Kidney failure
Brown-Pittsburg. After playing golf.
Herb Ellis-Texas Alzheimer's
Rich-NYC. Stoke, brain tumor, unexpected respiratory and cardiac failure after treatment related to the malignant brain tumor
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