Being Prez - The Life and Music of Lester Young - Dave Gelly
DB blues
Being Prez - The Life and Music of Lester Young - Dave Gelly
Dave Gelly [+]
Writer and Journalist
Dave Gelly writes about jazz in The Observer and other newspapers and journals. He has written and presented many features for BBC radio and hosted a weekly Radio Two show. He was a leading writer on the Sony Award-winning ten-part BBC radio series Sinatra: Voice of the Century and is the author of several books, including Masters of the Jazz Saxophone (Miller Freeman, 2000) and Stan Getz: Nobody Else but Me (Backbeat 2002). He was named Jazz Writer of the Year in the 1999 British Jazz Awards. Dave Gelly was appointed MBE in the 2005 New Years Honours.
Description
Jammin’ The Blues catches Lester Young at a creative peak, and also on the brink of his personal abyss. Just before the shoot he had received his call-up papers. This was not the first communication the Draft Board had sent him, but he had taken no notice. A touring musician was a moving target and, as Buddy Tate explained: ‘A lot of musicians beat the Draft by saying, “Well, I didn’t get it – I was on the road.” We were all trying to stay out because we were making too much money, and there were so many lonely ladies.’1 This time, however, the Draft Board really meant business.