This release presents the complete original Verve LP "Going for Myself" reuniting Lester Young and Harry Sweets Edison, one Pres last studio albums ever. Backing Pres and Sweets are superb musicians like Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson and Herb Ellis.
Five extra tracks have been added to the contents of the original album, including three alternate takes and two tunes not included on the originally issued set.
Lester Youngs final years werent easy. His poor health and alcoholism began to limit his talents and even his capacity to play. The sessions included here were two of his last studio dates ever. After the second one, he would only enter the studio on two other occasions: the following day, on February 8, 1958, with Harry Edison again, and with Roy Eldridge added (the results of this session were included on the posthumous album Laughin to Keep from Cryin) and a year later, on March 2, 1959, in Paris, France. Lester would die one week later on March 15, 1959, at the age of 49. The original album contained six tunes (tracks 1-6 of our CD), but more material was recorded on the two sessions, including two new tunes that werent issued on Going for Myself (a nice ballad medley and a nearly complete version of Perdido) and four alternate takes. To complement our set, we have added the two aforementioned new tunes, and three of the existing alternates.
Tracklisting:
01. FLIC (6:16)
02. LOVE IS HERE TO STAY (5:53)
03. ST. TROPEZ (10:05)
04. WALDORF BLUES (8:19)
05. SUNDAY (6:55)
06. YOURE GETTING TO BE A HABIT WITH ME (5:20)
07. BALLAD MEDLEY (5:51): (*) Bonus Track
A GHOST OF A CHANCE
I COVER THE WATERFRONT
08. PERDIDO (6:14) (*) Bonus Track
09. ST. TROPEZ (6:55) (Alternate take)
10. YOURE GETTING TO BE A HABIT WITH ME (7:43) (Alternate take)
11. WALDORF BLUES (6:16) (Alternate take)
Total time: 75:50 min.
Tracks #1-6 originally issued in LP as Verve MGV-8298.
Personnel on #1-3 & 7-9:
Lester young (ts, cl on #3 & 9), Harry Edison (tp), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b) and Louie Bellson (d). Recorded in Hollywood, on July 31, 1957.
Personnel on #4-6 & 10-11:
Lester young (ts), Harry Edison (tp), ou Stein (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b) and Mickey Sheen (d). Recorded in New York, on February 7, 1958.
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Notes:
"The star system of rating never seemed more useless to me than right now. Faced with this LP, it is agonizing to rate it. On the theory that Young is gone and anything he did is invaluable, its five stars."
Ralph J. Gleason -Down Beat
