Added: 3 years ago
From: jazzart1
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  • so fucking beautiful. fuck im so pissed im 16 during this generation.

    wish i lived in the 30's. so beautiful

    god bless you billie. im reading your back right now while listening to this

  • Lesters entrance into his solo at 2:00 is probably the coolest intro to a solo ive ever heard. i just listened to it about 10 times

  • For all the moaning people do about America, there's no denying that they pretty much produced the best music!

    The blues, jazz, soul, gospel and funk are America's gift to the world; we should all be thankful! :)

  • R.I.P Lady Day & the Prez. 

  • Billie Holiday less than a year before she and Lester Young died with (Coleman Hawkins,Lester Young,Ben Webster,Gerry Mulligan,Vic Dickenson,Roy Eldridge) -- This is ULTIMATE

  • it's like lester young is crying through his saxophone, reminiscing the bittersweet memories he had with billie holiday. brings tears to my eyes.

  • She and Lester just lay it all out.

  • Lester just kills it.  So smooth. Nothing else to say.

  • Dream team!

  • Pres shoulda made a song outta that melody.

  • the best jazz cats ever!!!!

  • "Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard, and [he and Holiday] were looking at each other, their eyes were sort of interlocked, and she was sort of nodding and half–smiling. It was as if they were both remembering what had been—whatever that was. And in the control room we were all crying. When the show was over, they went their separate ways."

  • what a fucking beautiful woman !!

  • @novaethicpower Monk had her picture on the ceiling at home

  • Ye Gods, what a band! You can sit around and hope, but there'll never be anything like it come this way again.

  • You know even though Justin Bieber's Baby has over 600 million views,kesha's tick tock has 75 million views, It gives me solace knowing that music like this not only still exist, but is going to continue throughout the ages. (not to say justin bieber's or Kesha's music isn't good, but you guys know what i mean)

  • @MadForests why are you bringing such an "irrelevant name"? who is that? surely this video deserves no comparison or even a mention of that sickening name of a mediocre so-called- "clown-musician".

  • i want to cry, when i watch this video. she was amazing and had such a rare talent.

  • why is lester's tenor squeaking on his attacks?

  • @SirDoctorBeat thats ben webster, lester is the second tenor soloist

  • @SirDoctorBeat

    because he wants it to.

  • @SirDoctorBeat He was in pretty ill health by this point but I think it was intentional and many consider this one of the greatest sax solos ever.

  • Gerrys the only white person

  • Billie and Lester had a falling out years before this recording. According to Ken Burns' documentary ("Jazz"), their communication with each other through music (starting at Lester's solo, 2:01) after so long a time had their mutual friends in the sound booth crying. You can see Billie listening to what he is saying and nodding in understanding. Absolutely amazing.

  • Lester is so high in this clip and the solo is probably the purist blues solo I've ever heard!

  •  Billie and Lester...Lady Day and Pres .

  • kings

  • NICE VID!!! BILLIE HOLLIDAY AWESOME!!! THNX!!!

  • Godallmighty......Lester trully leaps in....

  • It's lovely to see Billie happy.

  • amy who

  • @markdaniel72 it was a generation of wonders, one of those things that happen in art history that feel like miracles.

  • @pickupartistwannabe Sources, bitch?

  • Was there ever so much talent so in synch (Coleman Hawkins,Lester Young,Ben Webster,Gerry Mulligan,Vic Dickenson,Roy Eldridge) on the same stage? Oh, and Winehouse and Holliday both did their fair share of drivelling. You only have to listen to the music to know that they were soul-sisters, albeit one forever younger and so sillier. Actually, you only have to listen to the music - period.

  • @markdaniel72 Are you seriously going to sit there and compare Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse? Really? The only thing they have in common is that they're both dead. Only one of them was a loss, however. It would seem at first glance that some cat dropping names like Bean, Pres, Gerry, Ben Webster et al must quite probably know something about the music. You clearly do not. Get a fucking clue, brah.

  • @dangerbooboo I thought the same thing and then Tony Bennett started saying Winehouse was the real deal so I got one of her albums with the only song I was familiar with being "Rehab". Listen to the album. She is very good. She wrote most of the songs and I believe there is a huge talent there that is underappreciated.

  • @SinatraBC Tony saying she was the real deal ain't enough to convince me. I personally think the best he ever sounded and probably the upper limit of his talent was in '75 and aside from that, he never impressed me much. Whatever talent Winehouse has in comparison to the crap that's out today is more or less irrelevant. I maintain that there is absolutely no comparing her to Billie. Or Ella. Or Sarah. Or Betty. She's just not that good. Not even close. Sorry if you can't hear it. :(

  • @dangerbooboo I agree there is no comparing her to Billie, Ella, Sarah but I think that she had a sound within her that was good and with time she could have improved on and MAYBE GOT THERE. She definitely had a talent I don't think you can ignore. That is what I hear.

  • @SinatraBC Well, she definitely had a talent that YOU can't ignore. I can ignore it quite easily. :P

  • this must be about one of the best videos in all of youtube

  • What is the source of this recording?

  • Maybe Winehouse felt she was looking in a mirror and it was too painful. The same self hate and self destruction.

  • This one of my all time favorite performances. I can't seem to get enough of this and I keep coming back for a good listen.

  • Lady Day's Feeling No Pain baby

  • Is there any similarity between Amy's personal life and Billie's personal life?  Maybe this is where Amy's problem with Billie Holiday began...maybe the similarities made her uncomfortable. Just a speculation...

  • @bettyfelon1 sorry I didn't read your post before posting...I just repeated what you said.

  • @jazzzphannn Great minds think alike.

  • Ben Webster too baby!!!

  • I'm a huge fan of Ben Webster,for my money Lester Young played on this date one of the greatest blues solo ever, elegant in it's simplicty

  • this is an outstanding performance and i like it very much. but people who express their disgust of people who dislike a video disturb me. in matters of personal taste regarding music, art, fashion, cinema, literature, among other forms that are based on feelings rather than logic, it would be scary as hell if there were no dissenters among 170,000 people. the people who complain and insult those who dislike a video trouble me more than nonconformists.

  • WTF is there to dislike about this performance -2 morons... and counting!?!

  • Billie Holiday is wonderful beyond description. But what a killer band! Wicked dudes! It's all great (and mellow).

  • Billie H. was truly a great singer, I'm just sorry I could not witness her in person. Thank goodness I can see her videos!

  • Lester nailed it. That little solo speaks.

  • Amy Winehouse disliked this. Then she croaked.

  • Just so gorgeous. That voice!!

    And Lester Young is one of the most underrated musicians ever to have lived. I could listen to him forever and never get tired.

  • @thenevereverboy he's not underrated, but forgotten and misunderstood. the white music press created a 'damaged soul' image of him. white audiences believed that bullshit. none of them understood his level of musicality. the late Mr. Young was the biggest influence on modern jazz and RnB. his unified expression of melody, harmony, and rhythm of a song flawlessly & originally was the gold standard. good musicians knew he was a genius. Bird went one way, T-Bone Walker the other, the rest history.

  • its been a tuff week ,, so i am feeling this ,,,,,,

  • Amy´s mother... 

  • amy winehouse found dead today....hmm i guest you can tell billie you are sorry in -person. july 23 2011. respect the dead..R.I.P.

  • This is so great that it is, as Mr. Ellington would say, beyond category. And Lester's enttrance (indeed, his entire solo), following Ben Webster's typically gorgeous solo, is one of the most thrilling moments in recorded jazz.

  • This clip justifies all the garbage on YouTube.

  • @stjohnofb Don't think I've ever read a comment I agree with more.

  • this is one of the finest blues songs ever recorded, on all levels

    go Ben -- go Lester --go Billie -- and the whole band

    high draped pants, strips are really yellow... but when he starts into love me, he's so fine and mellow

  • did amy really say that? well.....if amy was a can i wouldn't kick her down the street stupid hoe ...singers like her should give a nod of thanks to billie and don't even know it. for a singer who drifts between blues...jazz and pop...she not very smart. if nothing else she should try to learn from billie mistakes with drugs...billie could sing circles around her...even at this point in her life in the video.

  • They don't play the horns like this anymore! Wow!

    

  • Is the first tenor soloist Coleman Hawkins?

  • @Yougottawanna Ben Webster 

  • @acarb aha thanks

  • dude who's the trumpet he's killin it!

  • @djjjamin That's roy eldridge my friend! haha, the maynard ferguson of those years

  • Shame to dis Amy, who may be young and stupid but also has an incredible voice. But Billie stands alone and to these ears, this may be her finest recorded performance. And talk about a killer supporting cast.

  • Divine Billie !!! 

  • A lovely voice. sweet smile sings true feelings, so speciall Billie oliday..

    Lucky she's been recorde also with best musians in the world.

    Love them all.

  • billy is a signer who drifts in and out of peoples lives ,,,,

    but ,, she was and always will be the un mistakenably mrs holiday

  • surely one of the highpoints of western civilization. holiday's face as lester young solos is one of the most wonderful things i've ever seen. her voice has such tremendous grip - they've miked her perfectly. no the 'divas' of today have nothing on her. did winehouse really say that? she's an idiot if she did.

  • Amy who?

  • i can't believe there is even 1 person on this planet that would dislike this, let alone one that would have seen it on youtube and deciced to declare it to the internet. CHEEKY NONCONFORMIST

  • In general I fear that kids today can never REALLY dig what the blues are all about. Back in that era of Lady Day and Lester and so many other fine and soulful musicians people appreciated that you had to have life jump up and bite you a few times to dig what the blues were all about. The great blues vocalists, especially the females, used their voices to caress a lyric and work a melody like a musical instrument. I'm in my 70s and grew up with big band, but also with jazzin' the blues.

  • @doctorhugo Im 16 and i became fascinated with jazz when i was 14. The whole concept of collaborating and communicating on that intense of a level blows my mind. Actually just had my first gig at a bar last week with my combo. No one today can even compare to Billie, Fitzgerald, or Vaughn.

  • @trumpetscrub I like your name, you a trumpet player I presume? True, that's why we gotta carry the banner forward!

  • @HerrBrewer : At 16 you are listening to Vaughn, Lester Young and Billy? WOW, congrats kid. Hope there many like you. Civilizations stands a chance after all. Je

  • @trumpetscrub armstrong?

  • I'm listening to this great music while my older brother (I'm 17 and he's 23) is listening to Crunck really loud in his room . . . Life is strange sometimes.

  • I absolutely love this video. I watch it frequently. She wears her feelings for Prez right on her face there. She loves the music -- note her expression when Gerry's playing...but her face says everything when Prez starts to play!

  • estremece.....enamora

    Lady Day

  • Amazing, the best version of that song I have ever heard!

  • 1 dislike.. that was an accident for sure

  • Holy shit, look how young Gerry Mulligan is!

    God how I wish Prez was still alive...

  • If I'd posted such stuff, I would have pointed out that Ben Webster takes on the first solo and Pres the next, followed by Billy Harris and Gerry Mulligan, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge.

  • @helluvagun thats vic dickenson isnt it? not billy harris

  • I love how the Bari players the only white guy. They mustve been like 'you cam carry that big sax over here if u wanna play w us' n he's like 'fine fuck you I can rip a bari better than all of y'all!' that's totally how it went down.

  • @djjjamin hahahaha, yep, exactly how it went down. pretty bitchin solo, nonetheless.

  • No need words, really no need words ! THIS IS MUSIC

  • This is one of the few singers who believes what she sings. She's also one of the few who you can tell respects the talent of the people in her band. She was an absolute gem. When I hear the crap that is being put out today, it makes me feel good to turn back the clock and know that music used to be this good. God bless you Billie

  • first up u have Ben Webster on tenor. Out of the Basie Band. 2nd up u have u have the greatest mellow tenor who ever lived , with the best licks ever in blues. 3rd up u have Dickerson on the bone . 4th up u have what I feel is the best solo in this set.. The greatest Bari player ever!!! 5th up u have the great tenor man the Hawk Colman Hawkins also was in the Basie band. last but not least u have the greatest trumpet of his time , The great Roy Eldredge. I saw this live on T V 1957 cbs

  • @jtrisch1026 trumpet, pops?

  • love her vibe expression

  • who's the second soloist

  • @MrSmitty555 It's Lester Young ; All of them are fantastic improvisers but Lester Young solo is my favorite along with Gerry Mulligan solo at 3 94 !

  • Lester and Billie is the DEFINITION of Fine and Mellow.

  • One person has the right to a differing opinion!

  • Beautiful!!...Ben rules too!!!

  • is that bennie green on trombone?

  • Does anybody know what key this is in?

  • @redboots77  it's in the key of E flat

  • prez and roy killiin' it

  • Happy Birthday Eleanora Fagan.

  • the way she vibes with lester young's solo gets me every time. you don't really see someone that performs but loves the music part like that nowadays. what a sexy woman!

  • Gerry Mulligan's solo is cool!

  • She allmost breaks my heart! And those solos!

  • who's the guitar player?

  • I guess she's about the only singer that really gets to me

  • Theres nothing cooler than Lester Young's solo.

  • WHAT A VOICE....PURE BEAUTY

  • Can anybody tell me who the white guy is in the band? He certainly looks Scandinavian!

  • @SaBoRhbg Gerry Mulligan, a redheaded American of Irish descent

  • Hate to say it but no one ever made strung out sexier.

  • It's the summit. BH and the Masters of Jazz.

    My heart belongs to you, Biliie

    Thousands fo stars

    xF - Rio de Janeiro

  • Amy Winehouse once made a comment about Billie Holiday saying that she couldn't stand "that bitch". But let's be serious: Who will listen to Amy Winehouse 50 years from now?

  • @pickupartistwannabe Wow. Dude, Amy can even stand herself at this point.

  • @pickupartistwannabe

    I agree.

    On a side note: It's sad Winehouse had a really good voice. She could have been great.

  • @pickupartistwannabe

    No she didn't.

    And you are SOOOOO correct.

    As a matter of fact Amy Winehouse fans don't total Billie's in no way. 

    All nationalities loved to hear Billie sing. That is not the case with Amy Winehouse.

  • @pickupartistwannabe If she " can't stand " that bitcuh " WELL THAN PISS ON ER,

  • @pickupartistwannabe i just lost a little respect for Amy for saying that

  • @pickupartistwannabe No way! Why would anyone ever say that? Stupid skank.

  • @pickupartistwannabe - where'd you see that comment?

  • @pickupartistwannabe i would she made some GOOD jazz before making annoying aaba pop. but i mean people on meth say stupid things

  • @pickupartistwannabe For somebody who spent her short and underachieving career ripping off more talented musicians than herself, Amy Winehouse certainly had some fucking cheek.

  • @pickupartistwannabe Who will be listening to her 50 days from now?

  • @pickupartistwannabe Amy who?

  • @pickupartistwannabe= how prophetic.

  • @pickupartistwannabe I love Billie Holiday and I also love Amy Winehouse, and I will listen to them for many years.

  • The "divas" of today can't hold a candle to Lady Day. It's not about the

    flashing lights or the speakers turned up loud. We know when we're

    getting the real deal. You dig, baby?

  • this classic done in 1957 at CBS studios on 52nd st was 2 years before billie passed and it was wonderful that tne masters of the horn were there which was usual for a ho;;iday recording---i especially liked coleman hawkins solo and of course billies favorite sax player the mellow prez, lester young

  • Paralysing emotional transparency !.Certainly one of the best jazz perfomences ever

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  • Truly he best on youtube ever!

  • one person deserves to get bitch slapped

  • Grandi tutti . Lester sensual e molto vicino all' arte di Billie Holiday.

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  • is she high as a kite in that interview or what? slurring her words like crazy.

  • @phooey108 Probably, she was quite fond of pot. She went on stage really stoned once and the crowd wasn't as appreciative as she would have liked, so she mooned them all and went off stage. Basically, she was a total badass.

  • The way the smiles and tilts her head when Lester plays; plus her eyes are such pools of wry sadness and tough experience, and I haven't even mentioned her voice, and quivering lip; she floors me every time! I love you Billie, beautiful absolutely beautiful!

  • She's greater than The Virgin Mary...

  • thats Gerry Mulligan playing the sax

  • can't get enough of that funky stuff

  • If anyone says drugs don't do any harm, they only need to look at the many beautiful people like this that they've taken from the world too early. What a fucking tradgedy.

  • You could see the majestic way she interprets and adds to the instruments..she listens - then leads. TOO COOL !

  • Billie's voice always gives me a hard on..!!!

    I once dated this beautiful sexy gal in San Francisco who could do a perfect Bille Holiday impression...

  • @mrprogjazzgto LOL Yea man. She had an undefinable sexiness and beauty...love those gardenyas(sp?).

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  • Maravilloso, muchas gracias.

  • Love to see how she reacts as these great guys plays their solo. This video is the best.

  • Both Lester and Billie died soon after this - I think within a year. I have listened to this recording many times over and never get tired of it. I agree with Mahim1968 - Lester is the master. After Lester died, a prominent jazz musician said, "anyone who doesn't play like Lester Young is wrong."

  • The "creamy" sound of Lester Young is the best representation of Blues in Jazz. Long live the Pres!

  • Billie and the boys at their very best. The stars must have been properly aligned and shining bright when they made this record. Awesome!!!

  • the smile on billies face wen pres takes the song apart priceless

  • This is so nice.

  • Billie y Lester hablaban el mismo idioma ♫

    MAGNIFICO VIDEO!!!

    Gracias por subirlo ;)

  • Billie, queen of jazz.

  • I had this recording on vinyl from the 60s. Always loved it then. Incredible to see it at last. Roy Eldridge's trumpet solo is almost frightening.

  • I had this recording on vinyl from the 60s. Always loved it then. Incredible to see it at last.

  • Absolutely Fantastic!