Lester Young - The Classic Albums Collection- 1955 - 1958 (2017)

THE CLASSIC ALBUMS COLLECTION: 1955 - 1958 Having risen to prominence as part of the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1930s, Lester Young is still considered to be among the most influential saxophone players of all time; indeed Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Gerry Mulligan, Paul Quinichette, Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon and Warne Marsh were all informed by and drew heavily on Young s sound. Renowned for taking a more relaxed approach to playing than most of his contemporaries, esteemed jazz scholar Scott DeVeaux stated that Young performed with "a freefloating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". Both Charles Mingus and Wayne Shorter wrote pieces in his honour: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and Lester Left Town respectively. Known too for his hip style and contribution to popularising much of the hipster language of the 1940s - it was allegedly Lester who first used the term cool to denote a laid back, bohemian sensibility - Young s impact helped guide jazz through the bebop era of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and it was during this period that the sax man released much of his finest work. This collection, featuring almost five hours of music across four discs, collates the finest recordings made by this true jazz giant. Although marred by health issues, Lester Young s playing as the bebop genre developed remained as spectacular as ever it was, and over the course of the eight original and remastered albums that complete this set it is wholly apparent just why Young s music has remained so influential to generations of jazz performers, and so popular with fans both new and old.