President of Beauty: The Life and Times of Lester Young

In August of 2009, Smithsonian Magazine said, “Lester Young…remains a powerful influence on the music. Wayne Shorter, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano… an elite list of contemporary saxophonists—have all professed deep admiration for Young.”

I had the opportunity to talk to Joe Lovano just before he went on stage with his wifeJudy Silvano at Ryles in Cambridge on March 27th, 2010.  Joe never met Lester but his influence was transmitted to Joe through his father, Tony “Big T” Lovano, who played with Pres in Cleveland during the 50’s. Later that evening Joe went on to channel Pres for a lucky group of aficionados.

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