The Artistry of… Lester Young
Lester Young became famous playing in the Basie Orchestra but was clear about not liking the big-band dynamic. In his own words from a 1959 interview done in Paris: “I don’t like a whole lot of noise — trumpets and trombones. I’m looking for something soft. It’s got to be sweetness, man, you dig?” There is something so simply cool and direct about the statement. I think it says a lot about the communal nature of the music. Young had a way with words. He used words that matched jazz, like a jazz language all its own. Call it hipster lingo if you want, but it was more than that — it reflected his own spirit. If he liked something, he said he had big eyes for it. Billie Holiday got the name Lady Day from him. My favourite Lester Young-ism is “How does the bread smell?” in reference to how a gig would be paying. Important stuff. Ask any musician you know why it’s a good idea to get that information before the gig. There is a full life story that can be told, but to me, his music says it the most and the best.The Artistry of… airs Wednesday evenings on Dinner Jazz with John Devenish.