JuandeSwing

08/08/2022

Our sunrise tour didn't work out as expected but we had an entire national parc just for us for 3 hours :)

08/05/2021

Happy weekend everyone!

Hope you’re all well since last time we saw each other :D
I’ll be DJing twice through May: tomorrow (9th May) and Sunday 23rd. I figured since we’re allowed out you don’t need me so much to fix your Sunday 😉
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724

May is Frankie’s month and, in the absence of getting all together and having a great ball to celebrate it – hang in… we’ll get there! – I’m planning to play some of Frankie’s favourites tunes and music of the Savoy.
If you’re looking for some ideas to celebrate , check the Frankie Manning Foundation’s page (https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/programsfmf/frankie-month/) or join us for a nice set of swing tunes!

17/04/2021

Gooood morning and happy Saturday everyone!
Hope the sun is shining where you are and you’re making the most of “being allowed to live” :D
I don't know you... but amongst many things I look forward to swinging out like Willa Mae Ricker and Leon James in this pic! We're finally getting there!
Over the last weeks we had awesome guests DJs and I’m super grateful to Debi and Tadas for bringing in their good vibes and TUNES!
I’ll be spinning some tunes as usual tomorrow at 6pm and it will be my last set until 8 May. Hope to see you there for some groovy tunes and a dance or 2 :D
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724

28/03/2021

Thank you everyone who came to today's set!
So nice to see so many of you and so many people dancing!!

See you next week at 6 for more! 😀

27/03/2021

We have a new fresh set of swing tunes tomorrow at 6pm. If you are after a weekend swing fix all you’ve got to do is just click the link! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

For now, it’s time to dig into Johnny Hodges a bit more 😊 This time I wanted to know a bit more about his contribution to Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938 – if you haven’t heard the album… IT’S A MUST! This gig marked a before and after jazz music and Johnny was part of it as he played soprano in “Blue Reverie” and alto in a jam in “Honeysuckle Rose”.
Quite rightly, Goodman described Hodges as "by far the greatest man on alto sax that I ever heard”!

https://youtu.be/yC83Gy-02F8

The group that played the song at Carnegie was formed by a combination of Benny and Duke’s men, including Gene Krupa, Cootie Williams – who in this song somehow makes that trumpet talk! – and Johnny. What fascinates me the most is that before the gig, they only rehearsed the song once… to do a sound check and yet the result is incredible.
Nobody knows exactly how the song made it to the concert, but is now part of one the most well known jazz concerts.

Time to indulge and if you want to check the full story, you can read more about it here: https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/12/31/blue-reverie-1937-38-duke-ellington-and-benny-goodmans-1938-carnegie-hall-concert/

21/03/2021

Hey! After a week’s break – and an awful amount of solo dancing – I’m back at 6pm for a new set of swing tunes!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

If you are feeling like wanting to know a bit more on musicians… well you’re in luck as I’ll be focusing on Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges for the next 4 weeks 😊 I feel a bit embarrassed to not have look into Johnny until now, and intimidated by the task at the same time!

Let’s take it from the top and focus on his early years. Chances are we know Johnny Hodges for playing alto saxophone, however in his early years he used to play drums and piano. Johnny was also quite a skilled soprano sax player, his main inspiration being Sidney Bechet and some sources say he even took classes from him.
Johnny moved from Boston to NY in 1924 and soon joined a band of a guy called Chick Webb, who happened to be his cousin (!!!). At the time, Chick wasn’t keen to be a bandleader but Johnny persuaded him to take the band to the Savoy in 1927. The rest is history! Sadly, there’re no recordings of Johnny and Chick playing together.

Johnny joined the Duke in 1928 and basically stayed with him for nearly all his career, apart from a 1951-1955 stint. Through his career Johnny got different names: “Rabbit”: because of his rabbit-like nibbling on lettuce and tomato sandwiches; from his ability to run really fast; or because of his lack of expression when playing. He was also called “Jeep” after a character in the cartoon Popeye.
And this brings us to the TUNE of the week, a dancers favourite: The Jeep is Jumpin’ !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3hSpzTigWU What a treat to be able to see these guys playing live 😊

Hope you enjoy it and to see you later on at 6 for some tunes!

06/03/2021

If you’re looking for some music, catch me Sunday at 6pm for a new set of swing tunes as we wrap your weekend up - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

In the meantime, time to put our eyes once again in Buck Clayton.
Buck’s draft to the Army meant his days with Basie’s men came to an end. Luckily enough, he got stationed pretty close from New York, meaning he could keep going to town to play with his mates 😊

In one of these sessions in August 1945 he got JC Hear (drums), Johnny Guarnieri (piano), Milton Hinton (bass) and “Flip” Joe Phillips (tenor sax) to record 4 pieces, “Groovin’ with J.C” being one of them and our song of the week. Shout out to Jon Turps for introducing me to this song! If you like groovy tunes, a solid rhythm section and a very catchy riff, this will be up your street. Note: I had to check 10 times that that it was Johnny on piano and not Count Basie!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U7NfduCAxM
What happened to Buck after the war? Well… he went to be one of the most famous trumpet players in Jazz history! He never really “crossed the road” to Bebop and for this reason his sound was labelled as “Mainstream”. Along his merits, he joined JATP, composed and arranged for the Duke or Benny, led his own band making several long stints in Europe, made great friends and recordings with Humphrey Littleton and toured Africa and Asia. Almost nothing!

Enjoy this week’s tune and see you tomorrow for more 😊

20/02/2021

Time to continue digging in a bit in Buck Clayton’s career!
After coming back from Shangai, Willie Bryant invited Buck to join his band in New York. On the way to meet him, Buck stopped in Kansas and was invited by Basie to join his band replacing Hot Lips Page.
Time to continue digging in a bit in Buck Clayton’s career!
After coming back from Shangai, Willie Bryant invited Buck to join his band in New York. On the way to meet him, Buck stopped in Kansas and was invited by Basie to join his band replacing Hot Lips Page.
The move ended up being highly prolific to Buck as not only he would enjoy the benefits of playing under Basie’s band but also allowed him to do freelance work. Between 37-43 Buck recorded with Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson and Harry James.
Buck’s engagement with Basie came to an end in November 1943 when he was drafted.
The song of this week is no other than Basie’s flagship tune “One O’clock Jump” (previously known as “Blue Ball” – wonder why they changed its name!?). I chose this particular clip as it briefly features Buck’s solo but also Don Byas on Sax who would then be part of Buck’s own band. Not long after recording this movie Buck went to war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXq7eb_HJ7w
Hope you’re in the mood for a classic!
If you want a bit more of music, I’m back on Sunday at 6pm for a new DJ set of top swing tunes!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I
See you there!

06/02/2021

It's been a while since the last time I did a bit of research on an artist, so here we go again! February is the time to focus on trumpet player Buck Clayton.

This week I’ll focus on Buck’s early years. Learning to play trumpet in his teens, he was based in California in his early twenties where he briefly played with the Duke’s band and met Louis Armstrong who he took as one of his first influences. During these years Buck also had his first go at leading his first band called “14 Gentlemen from Harlem” (guess how many guys were in the band!).
His career took an interesting turn between 34-36 when he moved to Shangai and led the band “Harlem Gentlemen”. During this time, he regularly played at the Canidrome and he is said to have had a great influence bringing together Chinese traditional and popular music.

I couldn’t find any songs from this time, so I chose this beauty “Don’s blues” recorded in 1949 which is inspired in another of my favourite’s “Lester Leaps in”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwFJUXtfzR0
If you like this and want to listen to more of it, we got your back! As per every Sunday, join us at 6pm for your Swing fix: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I
See you tomorrow!

22/11/2020

I think that if we told Mr that the UK swing community is getting together to do in aid of ... he would give us this big smile!!

Want to know more about it? Join my set today at 6pm as I give away a few more details!
Link on bio

21/11/2020

ALRIGHT! IT'S OFFICIAL! WE HAVE A NEW VIRTUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT COMING UP!
https://fb.me/e/1zx2J6Icy
If you're keen please hit "going" on the event and help us get this off the ground https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hop-for-christmas Justgiving is in the process of accepting the page and it will be live soon.

In the meantime, we have a live set on Sunday at 6pm! Time to show of all your flashy moves, what you're cooking or simply chill whilst I share my favourite tunes with you. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

Weʼre raising money to set a fundraising event. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

15/11/2020

HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who came to the set today!!!
It's been a while since I had so much fun DJing.

You all made my evening :D
Hope to see you next week, same time, same place!

05/11/2020

At the start of lockdown 1.0 we got together and did something amazing for the world!
Lockdown 2.0 is here, time to put our working gloves back on… :D More details to follow.
Stay tuned!

24/10/2020

Week 3 of our focus on Trombone players.
It would be a sin to not include (Edward) “Kid” Ory in this recollection!

Ory was born on Woodland Plantation, Louisiana and he started playing music with homemade instruments in his childhood. Originally a banjo player, specialists say this helped him develop the “tailgate style” (using his horn to play rhythmic bass lines in the front line, behind the trumpet and clarinet).

Kid Ory’s role in the history of jazz is out of the scale. As a bandleader he had guys under his guidance such as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechett and King Oliver. Later on he would join their groups such as Louis Armstrong Hot Five (see picture) and Hot Seven. In 1922 Kid Ory and his band would make history as the first African-American band to record.

The big depression hit and Kid Ory stopped playing in 1930 switching trombone for chicken as she made a living running a farm in LA (!!!). When he came back in the early 40’s his music was broadcasted in several radio shows and influenced reviving the interest in New Orleans jazz style.
Ory remained active until the mid-60’s when he retired to live in Honolulu.
If you ever forget how does New Orleans jazz sound, Kid Ory should be at the top of your search. In terms of music production, Muskrat Ramble and Savoy Blues are amongst his famous tracks. My favorite song by him is “Bucket got a hole in it” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fJfpOAdqYc

We have a new DJ set coming up tomorrow at 6pm! Next week there won’t be a set and we’ll be back on Sunday 8.11
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

17/10/2020

Lets continue with our Trombone saga!

This week we’ll stop at Weldon “Leo” Jack Teagarden station, who until this week I thought he was “just a singer”!

When we look at Jack’s family: mom and sister were pianist and dad and brother Charlie trumpeters. With those genes running through his veins it’s not surprising that Jack went through piano and baritone to end up playing trombone, which he basically taught himself how to play.

His stood apart and in the 20’s he was already recording with Louis Armstrong – a life lasting friend – and Glenn Miller amongst others.
Perhaps what stopped Jack from becoming one of the BIG names in jazz was playing it safe and signing a 3 year contract with Paul Whiteman, contract that despite providing him with a steady income banned him from leading his own band. By the time the contract finished it was a bit too late to start that race, nevertheless he tried it but did not succeed.

Jack is considered by some critics to be the best pre-bop trombone player and one of the best jazz singers. On this website (https://jazzfuel.com/best-jazz-trombone-players/?unapproved=10846&moderation-hash=03c90ddf6f6727d3e31cc2e80ef7967d -10846) I found a video of him and Louis Armstrong giving it all playing and singing Jeepers Creepers. The image of these two guys hugging and singing together is pure magic 😊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QXshgo65QM

Hope you enjoy it and to see you tomorrow at 6pm for some swingin’ tunes! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

10/10/2020

This month I decided to focus on an instrument rather than follow a particular artist for the month. And I decided to focus on trombone players! Why? A) Why not? B) I know very little about the instrument and wanted to know more about it, pay more attention to it when listening to songs.

The trombonist for this week is going to be Juan Tizol Martinez. Born in Puerto Rico and musically trained by his uncle, he moved to the US aged 20 and joined Duke Ellington’s band 9 years later to become a fix and a rock in his band. His contribution to the Duke’s band was such that he composed jazz standards such as Caravan and Perdido. If you ever came across a Latin song by DE, chances are, it was highly influenced by our dear friend Juan. When it came to his style, he would rarely solo but normally carry the lead melody with brass section.

Juan Tizol was clearly a side man who spent the majority of his active career between the Duke Ellington and Harry James band. He recorder very few pieces as a band leader, one of them being this beautiful song “The Sphinx” 1946, one of my favourites slow/medium tempo. If you listen to it, you’ll probably know why! I particularly like “Babe” Irving Russin on tenor, Willie Smith on alto and Irving Ashby on guitar - Also awesome musicians with an AMAZING CV!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkQdKvA8Q4A

If you’re looking for some nice swing tunes, I hope to see you tomorrow in my weekly set 6-7:30. If I don’t see you then, hope that you enjoy the tune of the week!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

03/10/2020

I’ve been a bit busy resting in a beach in Corfu and neglected my post this week. SORRY… but not 100% sorry!

This week I wanted to focus on “Lavender Coffin”. I think I used to listen to this song so much that I’ve gone off from it for a LOOONG time. I thought it would be time to say “hi” to an old friend and learn more about the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFumqjv8-o

Still today many people say “it’s my favourite song!” and when we point it’s about someone’s funeral they are shocked! That’s alright… it took me a year or so to work that one out! It’s a happy song about death and fun to dance to 😊

So it turns out a “lavender coffin” was the last will of a gambler. Why? According to what I check, it was a way to hide the smell of the body. The song also points out the engrained role of gambling and betting in the culture of the time.

The song was released in 1949, period in which Hamp was leading a Rhythm and Blues band under Decca. Names like Dinah Washington, Cat Anderson and Dizzy Gillespie played under Hamp’s guidance in this band. For this recording, Hamp was accompanied by guys like Wes Montgomery – guitar - and Sonny Parker – vocals – who also sang “The hucklebuck” and “Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Drinking Wine”.

Lavender Coffin swings, but is clearly not jazz! Despite its unquestionable modern popularity at the time it was released, it only made it to #13 in the R&B charts for one week.
Hope you enjoy the song and if there’s any other “hidden message” in it, please let me know!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow for a new set of swing tunes at 6pm! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Lavender Coffin · Lionel Hampton And His Orchestra Hamp The Legendary Decca Recordings Of Lionel Hampton ℗ A Ver...

19/09/2020

Time to focus on Hamp’s flagship song, Flying home! The question with this song is not if you like it, it’s what is your favorite version of it??

After recording with Benny Goodman’s band from 36-40 and leading his small combos, Lionel decided it was time to lead his own band. He did not do this by himself though. In 1936 he married his wife Gladys Riddle and it is said that whilst Hamp would run the music, she would take care of the business. It is said that Gladys had veeery tight control of the finances of the band, reason why they managed to be so successful and didn’t go bankrupt. Some said Hamp could be a bit erratic! Together, they not only ran a band, they also ran several housing projects for charity.

Coming back to the music, Hamp composed Flying Home whilst being a member of the Benny Goodman sextet. By 1942, when he recorded this version they knew the song by heart and it sounds reaaally different from the original BG recordings! The song is kind of a playground for Illinois Jacquet who at the time was only 19 years old! When Jacquet left the band other tenor players like Arnett Cobb (who plays in Flying Home #2) repeated exactly the same solo reaching fame too.

It’s quite easy to get side-tracked with how good Hamp and Jacquet sound and not pay attention to the other musicians, so I thought it would be nice to play tribute to them too: Karl George, Ernie Royal and Joe Newman, trumpets; Fred Beckett, Sonny Craven and Harry Sloan, trombones; Marshal Royal and Ray Perry, alto saxophone; Illinois Jacquet and Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophones; Jack McVea, baritone saxophone; Milt Buckner, piano; Irving Ashby, guitar; Vernon Alley, bass; George Jenkins, drums.
There you go! Time to indulge!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbh8RUfAkA0
Don’t forget we’re live tomorrow with a fresh set of swing tunes from 6pm! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

09/09/2020

Week 2 of Hamp’s month!

On this week’s song we are going to focus on some work that Lionel did on the side whilst still being an active member of the Benny Goodman band.

Before leading his own big band in the 40’s, between 1937-1940 Lionel led “small combos” and recorded REEEAAAL SWINGIN’ TUNES! Despite the groups were small, the names weren’t tiny at all and included musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Harry James, Rex Stewart, Benny Carter… WOOOA! On these recordings, apart from playing vibraphone, Hamp also plays piano (he had a particular way of playing with 2 fingers), drums and we can also hear him singing the occasional song.

This week’s song is Dinah which he recorded with Benny Carter , Dizzy Gillespie (tp); Edmond Hall (cl); Coleman Hawkins, Joe Sullivan (ts); "Freddie" Green (g); Artie Bernstein (b); and, Arthur "Zutty" Singleton (d).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eg4IfF3crE

I thought to leave you with some interesting facts about Hamp! Did you know…?
- In 1968 Lionel received a Papal Medal from the Pope Paul IV
- Through 1974 and 1995 he was awarded 10 Honorary Doctorates (or 15 according to some sources!)
- The School of Music at Idaho University has his name “Lionel Hampton School of Music”

Enjoy it and see you on Sunday at 6pm as usual for a nice set of swing tunes!

01/09/2020

We’re back!
New month = new artist. We’re in for the peculiar sounds of Lionel Hampton – “The King of Vibraharp”

It tends to divide views between people that love him and his sound or simply cannot stand it. Obviously, I’m between the members of his fans club… but it turns out I don’t know much about him. So, this month we’re going to be expanding a bit more on Hamp and hopefully having a special guest too!

Before picking up vibraphone, Hamp trained in drums and fife. He drummed for several bands and we can see him on the drums in Pennies from Heaven with Louis Armstrong. It turns out, it was Louis who recommended him to stick to vibraphone, until then a “new” instrument.

In 1936, John Hammond recommended Benny Goodman to check Hamp out and they went to see him in a concert. After the concert, Benny asked Hamp to join him and form the Benny Goodman Quartet alongside Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa (not bad!). This would be one of the first integrated groups to play and record together breaking down racial barriers.
My first song of the month belongs to the work that he did with these guys: Stomping at the Savoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBD7iJ02QW8

Recorded in 1936, soon after Hamp joined them, they sound as if they had been playing together for ages. Since it’s just the 4 of them playing you can appreciate and hear every single note and chord and over-indulge as much or as little as you want 😊

If you missed the Sundays DJing sessions, we’re back this weekend at our usual time 6-7:30. See you there! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81798732724I

28/07/2020

Last week of the month, time to wrap things up with my very good friend Thomas “Fats” Waller.

There are so many things about this unique character that I’d like to expand on such as him being the first black composer in writing for a Broadway show (“Early to Bed”) or the difficulties to separate himself from “just comedian” and be taken as a serious musician.

However, I’d like to conclude with a funny anecdote of Fats when he was kidnapped by Al Capone!

In 1926 Fats was touring in Chicago on the same night that Al Capone was turning 27. Prohibition was in place and Al had a monopoly on all sort of leisure night activities. Al’s boys wanted to give him a very special birthday present, they decided to wait until Fats finished his gig and forced him into a limo. They took him to the “Hawthorne Inn” and forced him to play. It appears these guys were having a big party to celebrate Al’s birthday.
Now, Fat’s being the party soul he was wouldn’t miss the chance to drink and eat as much as he could. The story goes that the party lasted for 3 consecutive days in which Fats would play songs for $100 tips and slept by his piano. The sources insist to say that after the party Fats developed a very special taste for Vintage Champagne!
There’s even a radio programme allocated to this story but sadly it’s not available! https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05vy9rm (if anyone can find it, please let me know!)

And the last song of Fats’ month is… “Scram!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r23kEbGOBNU
I’ve been playing this regularly in my sets as it’s by far one of my favourite songs by him due to the clarity of the recording, playfulness and I think it’s a bit complex too!

14/07/2020

This week’s song is Honeysuckle Rose, although if you read until the end you are in for a triple treat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7zm8v9reDo

In 1929 Fats and Andy Razaf were asked to write three songs for the show “Load of Coal” to be performed at the Connie’s Inn. The Connie’s Inn featured dance and songs revues, it was originally segregated and their owners – 3 brothers originally from Latvia – finally opened it doors to everyone. Some sources say black people were only allowed in when whites left. Connie’s Inn was quite a popular corner and Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and Ethel Waters performed there.

Honeysuckle Rose, originally written by Andy Razaf in 1924, was one of the songs that they brought to the show for a tap number. In Razaf biography he says “we thought very little of it at the time”, a song that was introduced to the Grammy Hall of Fame Awards in 1999(!!!)

The song didn’t come to popularity until Fletcher Henderson recorded it in 1932. Later on Fats picked the song again and it is said he recorded it 13, all of them different. The song is now a classic and it has been also recorded by several artists. In this website you can check a lot of different versions, you chose which one you like the most! https://songbook1.wordpress.com/fx/1929-standards/honeysuckle-rose/

The version I chosen was recorded in 1941, Fats is performing with a set of dancers, Vivian Brown amongst them. Vivian was one of the “Cotton Club Girls” and she would also perform with her twin sister Hilda in a duet know as the “Brown Twins”. According to my research, Vivian also appears in “Your feet’s too big” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in1eK3x1PBI and “The Joint is Jumping” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKe6yH3ZwGo in a video that looks like a good old rent house party.

Time to enjoy some of Fats' magic!

06/07/2020

Starting July means we have a new artist of the month! During this month I’ll be focusing on the life and legacy of Thomas “Fats” Waller. Hope you join me!

Why focusing on Fats Waller? Using my totally amateur music ear, when I listen to Fats I can still hear the influences of rag time into jazz; he introduced the organ into jazz and trained Count Basie in it; his voice swings so much and his piano makes you tap your foot all day long; he wrote jazz classics such as “Ain’t misbehavin’”, “Honeysuckle Rose”, “Blue turning grey over you”, "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", “I’m going to sit right down and write myself a letter” and, according to his son, “On the sunny side of the street”… NOT BAD AT ALL!

Starting from his early years: Fats grew up in Harlem and he was one of 11 siblings. Fats’ exposure to piano and organ came through his mom who instructed him. As a kid he would also play the violin and bass. According to Wikipedia, he took lessons from other teachers too paying for them by working in a grocery. When his mom died, he took lessons from James P. Johnson (key in the transition between rag time and Jazz). He recorded his first songs aged 18: "Muscle Shoals Blues" and "Birmingham Blues"… Super beautiful songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxiOL75ASaE

This week’s song is “I can’t give you anything but love, baby”, a song that according to some sources Fats Waller wrote and Andy Razaf put lyrics to and they sold for $500 for the show ”Blackbirds” in 1928. In this version first published in 1939, Una Mae Carlisle - also trained by Fats - accompanies him in the vocals in a beautiful and quite prolific duet.

29/06/2020

WEEK 5 of the Pres’ month
We got to the end of my little rendition to Lester Young. This guy is such a legend!

I’ll bring it to a close speaking a bit about his relationship with Billie Holiday. Lester and Billie, Pres and Lady Day as they use to call each other, met in the early 30s in jam sessions. They had good chemistry, Lester was tired of living in bad hotels in New York and he moved in with Billie and her mother Sadie. Lots has been said about their “intensely intimate and platonic” relationship. A relationship forged by their struggles with systemic racism and inequality, their addictions, passion and love for music as well as their own very unique personalities. Billie’s singing was inspired by Lester’s playing and in her own words “I don't think I'm singing. I feel like I'm playing a horn. I try to improvise like Les Young, like Louis Armstrong or someone else I admire.”

They recorded several records under Count Basie, Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday and her Orchestra. When touring together alongside trumpet player Buck Clayton they would hang out day and (mostly) nights and would be know as “The Unholy Three”.

In the early 50’s Lester and Billie fell out. It appears Pres got annoyed by the fact that Billie referred to him as “Pres was my favourite tenor saxophone player” and since then, their relationship wouldn’t be the same.

In 1957 the CBS put a special programme on, “The Sounds of Jazz” and they invited Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson and Gerry Mulligan (WHAT A LINE UP!). Pres was very weakened by his drinking, everyone thought he wasn’t strong to play and offered him to sit down whilst performing. During the rehearsal he staid in one corner and Billie in the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKqxG09wlIA

The song starts, Billie sings, Ben Webster does the first solo, at 1:22 Les stands up and produces magic until 2:02… (If you are listening, now you can clap LOUD). Billie’s face says it all. After the performance they parted different ways.
Lester died 14 months after this recording. On the way to the funeral Billie said “I’ll be the next one to go” and sadly she did 4 months later.

Anyone keen to know about 2 of the most prominent figures of jazz should read on Lady Day and the Pres. Enjoy what some have qualified as the saddest and most beautiful song at the same time.