Klarinet Archive - Posting 000617.txt from 2005/06

From: "danyel" <rab@-----.de>
Subj: Re: [kl] RE: Lester Young - sax holding position
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 03:49:11 -0400

Oh yes! There are a couple of photos and eye-witnesses of him playing like
that in the 30s, even a short silent movie fragment w/ Basie. In the 1944
film "Jammin' the Blues" he still holds his instrument oblique. As his
physical condition deteriorated later on, he dropped the horn gradually. The
"Sound of Jazz" performance w/ Lady Day was in '58, shortly before his
death. He is the only one seated (standing up just briefly for his one
chorus), and takes part only in "Fine and Mellow", while Hawk and Ben
Webster are also on other tracks. He must have been quite exhausted by then.
In the '30s he was known as a particularly exuberant player w/ unmatched
stamina and standing power. For. ex., he is reported to have cut the Hawk to
ribbons in '34 during a session lasting 'till noon next day. By holding his
horn originally indeed almost parallel to the floor I think he intended to
stress the effortless, flowing character of his playing ("linear" as in
floating on top of the changes). He also was a disciple of Frank Trumbauer
in the '20s (playing c-melody saxophone) and I figured trying to play the
kind of c-mel. w/ crooked neck that an oblique posture helps a lot.

Best wishes,
danyel

www.echoton.de/clar.html

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 4:18 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] RE: Lester Young - sax holding position

> Are you sure he was actually playing (as opposed to posing) in the Basie
> picture?
>
> Karl
>
> Lacy, Edwin wrote:
>
. . .
> >There are photographs of Prez playing seated in the Basie band, in which
he holds the saxophone almost parallel to the floor. However, if you have
ever seen the film of him playing in the studio with Billy Holiday, Gerry
Mulligan, Roy Eldridge, etc., he holds it in a very conventional position.
I'm not sure why he apparently had such different ways of suspending the
instrument. Any ideas?
> >
> >Ed Lacy
> >University of Evansville

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