BORN ON THIS DAY: LESTER YOUNG
Portrait of Lester Young, Famous Door, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1946. William P. Gottlieb, photographer
CELEBRATING THE PREZ — Lester Young, Black American tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Young—nicknamed “Prez” by Billie Holiday—was born August 27, 1909 and passed away on March 15, 1959. He was an iconic figure in music, fashion, and language, cited as a major cultural influence by musicians and non-musicians alike.
When asked about Young during an interview, Charles Mingus recalled, “I was playing the Half Note Club the night we heard he died, and we went to the bandstand and played a blues for Lester. I knew the guys would never do that again. I went home and wrote a blues the way I thought they were playing, with different types of chord changes—not just the regular blues—and it became part of the book.”
Mingus titled the piece “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” a nod to the accessory that had become synonymous with Young. It was released on the album Mingus Ah Um, which was recorded less than two months after Young’s untimely death. The composition has since become Mingus’ most well-known song, having been recorded by a wide variety of artists including Pentangle, John McLaughlin, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jeff Beck, Joni Mitchell, Gil Evans, and many others.
1: Portrait of Lester Young, Famous Door, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1946. William P. Gottlieb, photographer.
2: Lester “Prez” Young, NYC, 1948. Herman Leonard, photographer.
3: “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” lead sheet arranged by Sy Johnson, Mingus Ah Um sleeve and CD. Mingus Archives.
4: “Pork Pie Hat” original chord changes in Charles Mingus’ hand. Year unknown. Charles Mingus Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.
5: “Pork Pie” a.k.a. “Theme For Lester Young” arranged by Bob Hammer for Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, Booker Ervin tenor saxophone part, ca. 1963. Charles Mingus Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.
6: “How To Make A Pork Pie Hat” with Lester Young, article, Our World magazine, Nov. 1949.
