Last Message of Pres: 1959

Last week I received an email from filmmaker Henry Ferrini, who is busy making a documentary on Lester Young. He sent along a clip in which he features Young playing I Can't Get Started from March 1959 and the tenor saxophonist being interviewed by jazz journalist François Postif. The music is beautiful and Young's words about being African-American in the U.S. and Paris are harrowing.

Let's give a look and listen...

 

Here are all the tracks from Le Dernier Message de Lester Young (The Last Message of Lester Young), his final studio recording in Paris on March 4, 1959, with Rene Urtreger (p), Jimmy Gourley (g), Jamil Nasser (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). Start with the first track and let it run...