August 27 means Man Ray, Pres & Al

In decades of curating film shows, found myself and audiences fascinated with the 1920's short subjects made by the ingenious artist, filmmaker, photographer, illustrator and American in Paris Man Ray (August 27, 1890 - November 18, 1976).

Can't explain exactly why Man Ray's films are fascinating, why the visuals are so compelling, why after watching Emak Bakia or Le Retour A La Raison, one immediately wants to watch it again.



Whenever, in presenting DIY 16mm film shows, this blogger screened Man Ray's films, whether in 1990 or 2020, the audience was enthralled. Man Ray's photos and paintings enthrall this writer as well.



Tranisitioning less than deftly from the world of Dada and Surrealism to the sonic milieu of saxophones, big bands and swing, the man known as the President and among the greatest innovators in jazz and 20th century music history was saxophonist and clarinetist Lester Willis Young, cornerstone of the mighty Count Basie Orchestra, born on August 27, 1909.



Along with fellow jazz greats Marlowe Morris, Jo Jones, Barney Kessel, Illinois Jacquet and Red Callendar, he's part of the all-star group that starred in Gjon Mili's outstanding 1944 musical short subject Jammin' The Blues.

There are not many film clips of Pres, who passed in 1959, but here are a few in which he is featured with several excellent ensembles jam-packed with virtuosos. He sounds great, as usual.








Here's an enjoyable yin/yang from the Art Ford's Jazz Party TV program featuring Lester Young with fellow tenor saxophonist, King Of Swing and stylistic opposite Coleman "Body & Soul" Hawkins.



Author, jazz historian, bandleader and saxophonist Loren Schoenberg penned one of the very best pieces this music fan has read about Lester Young and has posted Pres clips on his You Tube channel. The following Lester Young albums - studio recordings on Verve volume 1, volume 2 and volume 3 - are musts for the swing and music fan's collection.









Tough to pick just one Pres performance of the many. This 1956 Birdland All-Stars concert of Miles Davis, backed by The René Urtreger Trio and featuring special guests Lester Young and (piano virtuoso) Bud Powell, is particularly amazing listening.




Now, to paraphase an old friend of mine, shifting gears from music to comedy, it is indeed August 27, so that means the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog pays tribute to comedian Al Ritz, born Albert "Al" Joachim on August 27, 1901 and part of a zany trifecta with brothers Harry and Jimmy.

Any mention of Al or his brothers Harry and Jimmy brings to mind the question of just how does a comedy fan or classic movie buff explain The Ritz Brothers.



None other than the great Mel Brooks gives that very explanation a try in this interview with Conan O' Brien.



Gifted physical comedian Soupy Sales agrees.



Here, animated Ritz Brothers tangle with none other than Donald Duck in The Autograph Hound. Excellent work as usual, Disney artists!



Who influenced Sid Caesar and the gang from Your Show Of Shows and Caesar's Hour? The one, the only, the legendary rubber-faced alpha goofball Harry Ritz (in the act, albeit not in the following photo, "the guy in the middle").



While the Ritzes, compared even to the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges, remain emphatically a characterization-free zone, their genius is in their ultra-wacky dancing, patter and singing.



As is the case with musical comedy stars Ray Bolger and Donald O'Connor, the humor is in how they move.



This production number from the Alice Faye musical On The Avenue presents one answer to the question, "just what did people find funny about The Ritz Brothers?" There's Harry's bravura vocal and indescribably funny dance moves by the trio. LOVE the bit where they mimic penguins!



Besides the He Ain't Got Rhythm number, the best example of Harry, Jimmy and Al Ritz remains the episode of The All Star Revue they hosted on May 17, 1952. The key to the Ritzes is that, as was the case with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, they shined as a live act and were emphatically toned down for feature films. Harry is THE ad-lib king and his improvisations are seldom in the team's feature film appearances for Fox and Universal.



This All Star Revue show presents a valuable record of their act, as The Colgate Comedy Hour shows did for many comics (Martin & Lewis and Abbott & Costello as well as the Ritz Brothers, whose Feb. 22, 1953 episode of the series does not exist) - and is also the reason this blogger has been known to utter the phrase "DON'T HOLLA - PLEASE DON'T HOLLA" for no apparent reason. The Ritzes' anarchic spirit and musical comedy mojo reigns supreme throughout.



The gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog sincerely hopes that kinescopes of the Ritz Brothers' second episode of All-Star Revue, which aired on November 22, 1952 as part of the Four Star Revue series, and the aforementioned 2-22-1953 Colgate Comedy Hour show turn up.

Presidents' Day Music

Presidents' Day here means jazz and swing.



That means an all-music post specifically paying tribute to the recording artist and Count Basie Orchestra star known as The President, Lester Young.

Fellow saxophonist Sonny Rollins elaborates:



As the accomplishments of JFK, FDR and Honest Abe a.k.a. Hot Rod Lincoln are all targeted by obnoxious "this channel has no content" YouTube trolls in 2023, might as well spend Presidents' Day listening to the innovative tenor saxophonist and clarinetist.

Lester Young a.k.a. Pres or Prez was a virtuoso among virtuosos at a time when the likes of Mary Lou Williams, Art Tatum, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, Chick Webb and Charlie Christian were all still living and at the top of their game.



Here's Pres and an all-star swing ensemble in one of the greatest films about music ever filmed, Life magazine photographer Gjon Mili's Jammin' The Blues (1944).



He's among the many music luminaries who appeared on the 1957 CBS-TV special The Sound Of Jazz part of the The Seven Lively Arts series.



While few films of Lester Young exist, here's footage shot in October 1950 of what appears to be a Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP) ensemble: Lester Young (tenor saxophone), Bill Harris (trombone), Hank Jones (piano), Ray Brown (bass), Buddy Rich (drums).



In a longer excerpt from this JATP film, the group is joined by Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker. As was often the case, Granz assembled quite a powerhouse lineup.

Raising that, from the superlative YouTube channel of music historian, teacher and saxophonist Loren Schoenberg, here's one of the rare interviews with Lester Young.



And also from Loren Schoenberg, who penned an eloquent article about Pres on the Mosaic Records website, here are several renditions of Three Little Words.



After an upbringing playing in the Young family band and other ensembles, Pres became a prominent player on the music scene in the 1930's as part of the dynamic Count Basie Orchestra.







Gotta love Basie, a bandleader with an eye for talent, seen in this shot from the Library Of Congress collection, snapped at NYC's Aquarium Club by gifted photographer William P. Gottlieb.

The power, expressiveness, creativity and eloquence of Lester Young's playing deepened as his career progressed from the early swing era through the 1950's.



Pres' last records, on the Verve label, remain some of his very best.







In closing, the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, realizing that a mere month for Black History during any year is way insufficient, extends a tip of the porkpie hat to the Lester Willis Young.



Pres was a one of a kind artist who could express love, pain, sorrow, wonder and the expansiveness of the universe with one note.

Happy 105th Birthday, Lester Willis Young (1909-1959)

Today is the birthday of arguably the greatest instrumentalist to ever play jazz, Count Basie's go-to guy, saxophonist and clarinetist Lester Young, born on August 27, 1909.





Some music aficionados might argue that the "greatest" mantle would go to Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Art Tatum or possibly any number of luminaries quite a bit younger than Pres (Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Miles Davis).



Others would accurately say, yeah - ALL of them are the greatest and don't forget Sidney Bechet, Bix Beiderbecke, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Christian, Teddy Wilson and Earl "Fatha" Hines while you're at it!




For this correspondent and music lover, nobody then or now comes close to the sweet sound of Lester Young a.k.a. "Pres".



Many attempted to imitate his musicality and out-of-the-box approach to life, but nobody succeeded. There's only one original.



Here's Pres and several bands jam-packed with virtuosos, sounding great.











While Lester's music provided some measure of comfort for millions around the world, during his lifetime and 55 years after his death, he suffered a great deal in his life. One hopes that Mr. Young found the peace and serenity which eluded him during his time here.

Happy Centenary To The Incomparable Prez

To celebrate the centenary of the inspired, fabulous and ever-soulful Lester Willis Young (1909-1959), here he is, the one and only "Prez", playing "Pennies From Heaven" with Hank Jones (piano), Ray Brown (bass), Bill Harris (trombone) and Buddy Rich (drums).



Following this is one of the greatest films ever made about jazz, Jammin' The Blues (1944), stylishly directed by Life Magazine photographer Gjon Mili.




It is my hope that Lester found some peace in the hereafter that he largely did not enjoy in his time on this planet.

Billie Holiday - Fine And Mellow (1957)

Jammin' The Blues

Here, in its entirety, is the classic Warner Bros. musical short Jammin' The Blues (1944), directed by Life Magazine photographer Gjon Mili. The incomparable Lester "Prez" Young works his magic alongside Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet), Marlowe Morris (piano), Red Callendar (bass), Barney Kessel (guitar), John Simmons (bass), Marie Bryant (vocals), two legendary drummers (Basie big band heartbeat Jo Jones and Louis Armstrong All-Star percussionist Big Sid Catlett) and a very young Illinois Jacquet, who takes us out with a hot screaming blast recalling his wonderfully orgiastic solo on Lionel Hampton's "Flying Home". And Marie Bryant and Archie Savage cut a mean jitterbug rug.

Mili's most stylish "midnight symphony" affected me personally. Upon my first viewing of Jammin' The Blues - in a 16mm print way way back when - I immediately sought out all recordings and info about Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet I could find. I was not disappointed. Still haven't been. It eventually led to an amazing night in a club listening to Illinois soulfully play "Round Midnight". . . ON BASSOON.

To this day, I still seek certain amazing recordings of these ying/yang saxophonists on CD:

• Prez, in early 1946, riffing inspired chorus after inspired chorus on "Tea For Two", from a Jazz At The Philharmonic quartet appearance (and very ably supported by Kenny Kersey, Ray Brown and J.C. Heard).
• And, possibly from the same concert, "I Can't Get Started" with Lester, Jacquet and Coleman Hawkins together.
• Jacquet's red-hot 1965 live recordings, as part of a trio with Hampton Orchestra B-3 wizard Milt Buckner and "Mr. Boston", Alan Dawson, on drums.
  

Prez, Ella, Hawk, Bird and Buddy

The always oh-so-sweet tenor saxophone of the great Lester Young leads this very "Jazz At The Philharmonic" style swing band - also featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Bill Harris, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Flip Phillips, Hank Jones and Ray Brown. Here's a clip from this 1950 film, featuring Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins with the rhythm section.