Lester Left Town (Shorter) Stan Getz with Bob Brookmeyer - Lester Left Town. Prague, 1968. Intro: Stan talks about Jazz with Itzhak Perlman during a White House performance, with Chick Corea.
"On the classic Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers album Big Beat from 1960, the innovative young saxophonist Wayne Shorter wrote a tribute to an icon for saxophone players - Lester Young. This was a surprise to many people. Shorter was thought of as the new guard, the new sound. He was more influenced by classical composers such as Ravel than the Tin Pan Alley song-smiths that most jazz players referenced.
Shorter’s tribute song Lester Left Town is not a throwback either. Art Blakey and Blue Note producer Alfred Lion got into a fight as to whether to record it or not. Why? Shorter said in a 1981 interview, “I think my tune was new. The modernity, all those chromatics were too much for Alfred.” Yet when you hear it, you can hear the Lester Young spirit in the strange new notes and also in Shorter’s saxophone solo.
Shorter said, “It’s a small tribute to Lester. It was meant to show how I felt about his whole musical existence. I’ve been aware of Lester since I began playing, and this tune took a long time to write. Because of my own style, a lot of people seemed surprised that I’d written a piece for Lester, but listeners don’t always realize how many influences help to form a musician. And the song is also meant to show that we younger players do think of those who are gone.”
Pause for a moment to think of how many influences helped to form you - your outlook, your life path, your daily choices large and small. Think of those who are gone and see how you can guide what you do today to be a small tribute to them. Take their wisdom and consciously make one part of it your own today - blend the two to form you at your best." Bob Fletcher
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