A Lester Young Reader

xiii, 323 pp. "Tenor saxophonist Lester Young (1909-59) was the most original jazz improviser of the 1930s. A leading light of the generation between Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, he invented the relaxed, rhythmically flexible, 'cool' style that lies at the root of modern jazz." "A wide-ranging, well-edited, and annotated collection of 36 articles and interviews make up this collection devoted to tenor saxophonist Young, one of the most important jazz performers of the 1930s through the 1950s. Editor Porter, himself an expert on Young, divides the articles into biographical essays, interviews with the saxophonist, and performance style analyses." - Library Journal