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Lester Young - Ken Burns Jazz Series: Lester Young (1957)

Track listing:
  1. Oh, Lady, Be Good! Jones-Smith Incorporated 3:08
  2. Every Tub Count Basie and His Orchestra 3:16
  3. Honeysuckle Rose Count Basie and His Orchestra 3:00
  4. Pagin' The Devil Kansas City Six 2:59
  5. A Sailboat In The Moonlight Billy Holiday and Her Orchestra 2:50
  6. He's Funny That Way Billy Holiday and Her Orchestra 2:39
  7. Getting Some Fun Out Of Life Billy Holiday and Her Orchestra 3:02
  8. If Dreams Come True Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra 3:04
  9. Taxi War Dance Count Basie and His Orchestra 2:52
  10. Twelfth Street Rag Count Basie and His Orchestra 3:05
  11. Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie Count Basie and His Orchestra 2:30
  12. Lester Leaps In Count Basie's Kansas City Seven 3:16
  13. Tickle Toe Count Basie and His Orchestra 2:40
  14. Sometimes I'm Happy Lester Young Quartet 3:10
  15. I've Found A New Baby Lester Young Trio 4:07
  16. D.B. Blues 3:00
  17. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid 3:11
  18. This Year's Kisses 6:45
  19. Polka Dots And Moonbeams Count Basie and His Orchestra 3:35

Notes

With cooperation from the Verve and Columbia Legacy catalogs, the Ken Burns Jazz series on CD individually spotlights the musical excellence of 22 jazz originators whose careers and influence are explored in Burns' PBS documentary Jazz. This disc highlights tenor saxophonist Lester Young, beginning with his membership in the Count Basie band during its historic prime from 1937 to 1939. In addition, Young's late-'30s participation in the Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson orchestras is represented, and the CD also includes mid-'40s sides for Aladdin such as "D.B Blues" and "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" (which proved wrong many critics who insisted that Young's abilities had deteriorated after his release from the military). Although Young initially left Basie in 1940, he occasionally rejoined the band, as evidenced by "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," this disc's concluding track from 1957. While it's impossible to sum up the history of Lester Young on a single disc, the highlights presented on Ken Burns Jazz should be enough to keep the novice jazz listener interested in searching out more material. There is nothing new for true Lester Young aficionados on this disc, however.