A Hundred Candles for Lester Young

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Tenor saxophonist Lester Young was born 27 August, 1909, and even at 100 he may be the coolest of cool jazz cats. He was (to single out a quality he prized) an original - a contrarian, even. For awhile he even held the bell of his horn out at a weird, unnatural angle. David Stone Martin once drew him playing in front of the tower of Pisa, leaning the opposite way. Young had his own way… more »