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Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 54. Chapters: Johnny Hodges, Dexter Gordon, Lester Young, Woody Herman, Benny Carter, Loren Schoenberg, Jimmy Dorsey, Tex Beneke, Earl Bostic, Frank Foster, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Ben Webster, Ozzie Nelson, Jesper Thilo, Jimmie Lunceford, Illinois Jacquet, Charlie Barnet, Don Redman, Paul Gonsalves, George Paxton, Houston Person, Harry Carney, Alix Combelle, Ahmad Alaadeen, Scott Hamilton, Frank Wess, Hal Kemp, Fess Williams, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Buddy Tate, Ken Peplowski, Bennie Wallace, Flip Phillips, Otto Hardwick, Jimmy Hamilton, Seldon Powell, John LaPorta, Guy Lafitte, Russell Procope, Glenn Zottola, Omer Simeon, Billy Mitchell, Edgar Sampson, Herbie Steward, Boomie Richman, Skippy Williams, Georgie Auld, Benny Waters, Charlie Ventura, Eddie Miller, Vido Musso, Heinie Beau, Sam Donahue, Doug Lawrence, Hubert Rostaing, Lem Davis. Excerpt: Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 - March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument, playing with a cool tone and using sophisticated harmonies. He invented or popularized much of the hipster ethos which came to be associated with the music. Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi and grew up in a musical family. Young's father, Willis Handy Young, was a respected teacher, his brother Lee Young was a drummer, and several other relatives played music professionally. His family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana when Lester was an infant and later to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although at a very young age Young did not initially know his father, he learned that his father was a musician. Later Willis taught his son to play the trumpet, violin, and drums in addition to the saxophone. Lester Young played in his family's band in both the vaudeville and carnival circuits. He left the family band in 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour in the Southern United States, where Jim Crow laws were in effect and racial segregation was required in public facilities. In 1933 Young settled in Kansas City, where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie. His playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the aggressive approach of Coleman Hawkins, the dominant tenor sax player of the day. Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. He soon left Henderson to play in the Andy Kirk band (for six months) before returning to Basie. While with Basie, Young made small-group recordings for Milt Gabler's Commodore Records, The Kansas City Sessions. Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with a reunion in 1944), they are named after the gro