Lester Young - March 15, 1959


"Lester Young died unexpectedly of a heart attack in the early hours of Sunday, March 15, 1959 in the Alvin Hotel on 52nd and Broadway where he had been living for the past year, just across from the Birdland jazz club. Young was just 49, and despite ongoing health problems, he was performing regularly — but he’d begun experiencing severe stomach pain in Paris after spending seven weeks abroad, and rushed back to New York where he died almost immediately upon his return. Dave Gelly details Young’s final hours very thoroughly in his biography Being Prez: The Life and Music of Lester Young, if you’re looking to learn more. It was an event that shook the jazz world; according to critic Leonard Feather, at Young’s funeral, held the following Thursday, March 19, Young’s longtime friend and collaborator Billie Holiday told him, 'I’ll be the next one to go.' ..."
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2017 July: In Washington (1956), 2018 August: The Jazz Giants '56 (1956)

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