The greatest Jazz performance on film...ever! | with BILLIE HOLIDAY, COLEMAN HAWKINS, LESTER YOUNG

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I am a drummer, producer and educator. I talk about Jazz, Prog and Fusion and the cultural context in which music has been, and is made. And sometimes, if you are lucky, I go off on one...

[@denbrown3676]

Half the fun is seeing what state Andy's wig will be in today. 😂

[@gjingodjango]

Funny

[@evertvanderhik5774]

Speaking on Coleman Hawkins, we had a radiohost in the Netherlands called Pete Felleman and was a massive fan of him and often played his music on radio. When someone asked him why do you not play an other one he replied: which other.

[@bangcolt]

The great jazz historian (and civil libertarian) Nat Hentoff called Lester Young’s solo here the purest blues ever recorded. That’s because it was “love talk” between two tortured souls once extremely close but then estranged for years getting a final chance to express their love for each other through music. This is why music will forever be the most expressive of all human art forms.

[@marklee3587]

"One of the greatest solos in Jazz history" - Lady Day's reaction to Lester's playing when the camera zooms in on her face says it all!!! 🤩😍 So much chemistry and genuine admiration!!! 💞🎷🎼🎶🎵🎶

[@deanlester3967]

I would like to commend you on your wonderful words to this gem of a performance, and Billie Holiday, it is extremely hard to put all you want to say in, in such a short time but you did her proud, the joy on Billie’s face is just magic.

[@Doublebasist]

I'm welling up with emotion here in my workshop working away thinking about the history behind me when it comes to this amazing music that I love and play too. Great video Andy.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Wonderful!

[@goldenrool8018]

Repeating a comment I made on another video of this performance but want to share it here also. Believe what makes Lester Young solo so great is that it mirrors Billie Holiday's singing and phrasing perfectly. If Billie Holiday could play tenor sax, it would be exactly how Lester played this. You can see it in her eyes when he is playing. Their souls are truly "connected" in this moment

[@samuelfein6844]

I have watched this a multitude of times - music does not get any richer - up there with Bach and Parker!

[@Guitar6ty]

50s and 60s Jazz was and still is awesome.

[@arnaudb.7669]

Great. Thanks!

[@johnparker659]

Trivial as it might seem, and while I'm all over Andy's great musical knowledge - they all look so visually 'together' - there's something about their companionship and comfort around one another that is beautiful.

[@PhilBaird1]

You put it beautifully John. That's exactly it.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Well said!

[@feralsanders]

Andy's aim for excellence/greatness is reflected here beautifully. ❤🙏

[@AntarblueGarneau]

You best video on jazz yet! Keep 'um coming!

[@cjtorres3254]

She was great the songs with benn goodman were classic jazz music. long live Billy Holiday. Great video Andy. Your videos have made me a jazz fan. And jazz fusion.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday etc. yeah words can’t express what I feel about these musicians and this miraculous recording. Thanks for bringing so much history, insight and context to these incredible musicians.

[@Fatdogrecords]

The best video you have done Andy. So many great musicians on this gig. Love it when Pres steps up and you can see the love in Billie’s eyes.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I love that too

[@michaeleisenstein8511]

Thanks for this, one of the best KZbin videos I’ve seen.

[@weitzen]

More good stuff Andy giving priceless perspectives on a real moment in jazz (or just music) history!!! Thanks again!! What about a top 5 (10?) filmed jazz performances? One of my favourites is Anita O'Day's legendary Newport performance! Life affirming stuff plus the coolest audience ever!!!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

That is a fantastic performance...i had thought of doing this

[@PhilBaird1]

Anita was arguably the highlight (Certainly my favourite) of that marvellous documentary. She looked fantastic too.

[@weitzen]

Did she not have to tramp through mud to get to the stage , and she still looked stunning, and as you say Phil, put in an iconic performance!

[@gregarruda112]

Splendid Andy.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

My favourite video of ypurs. Just wonderful. For me the best music is the expression of being human through experiences, emotion and truth.

[@aindriubradleymarshall6226]

Excellent analysis. Love it.

[@2yhtomit]

Thanks so much for this video. You kind of had me crying a bit there a couple of times. Not that it adds anything to what you expressed in the video, but the first album I heard of Coleman Hawkins was "Sirius," recorded in 1966 but not released until 1975. I guess it was his last album. Some reviewers kind of look down on it as a sad, pitiful remnant of someone who was once great. To me it is very beautiful and emotionally compelling - and sad, not because it's poorly done because that's what it expresses - well, it's one of my favorites.

[@gcustis]

I think it was Miles Davis who said “Music is a language that is made entirely of cliches and the job of a musician is to sound Cool using only those cliches”. Great vid

[@eastwoofer]

Good one brother.

[@louisgreen3915]

If you put Billie Holiday in the emotional boxing ring with (almost) any singer out there today, the referee would stop the fight in the very first round. Quote from my late poet friend, Richard Otto. I was raised on Lady Day and every time I hear her it reminds me of my father (also deceased). RIP to all concearned. Great vid Andy.

[@boq780_2.0]

Coleman Hawkins is a particular favourite of mine. Coming up at the same time as Louis Armstrong, he really invented the language of jazz saxophone and then was pivotal in its reinvention through his role in the sessions at Mintons which led to the bebop movement. He also recorded one of the very first jazz solo instrumental singles with ‘Picasso’. Whilst his ‘Body and Solo from the immediate pre-War period is rightly celebrated as a precursor of bop, my favourite of his recordings is ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ with his sax ensemble, which is sublime and for me the greatest version of one of my favourite jazz standards. As for Mal Waldron, I was just listening to the excellent duo album he cut around 2001 with David Murray. What a career. Thank you for this excellent video.

[@narosgmbh5916]

Mal Waldrons "Free at Last" was ECMs numero uno

[@SuperStrik9]

We're so fortunate to have this footage.

[@Maltloaflegrande]

5:04 It's definitely Danny Barker on guitar and the trumpet obligati are by Doc Cheetham who was Billie Holiday's personal choice.

[@kzustang]

I love it when Andy takes a small glimpse of life and manages to stick half of human history with this one moment in time. Another brilliant video from the maker of "Why all Jazz music sounds the same these days" and "Why Prog didn't kill punk". This time with accompanied audio during the talk. So much information and insights in this video. I'm loving it! As much as I think I know jazz, Andy, once again, managed to deepen my understanding of the history and beauty of jazz. What more do you want???

[@BenFinlay-cg9dl]

Thanks Andy, one of the best videos you have ever made. Everything you say is spot on, excellent

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Wow, thanks!

[@PhilBaird1]

Couldn't agree more Andy. So much heart and soul. Jazz On A Summer's Day is also a beautiful documentary that captures the music with wonderful images. Great stuff and many thanks.

[@SpookyLuvCookie]

Another great video Andy (and loving how the philosoph-o-meter needle is tipping into the red, even thought it's not even Sunday) Love n Light dude

[@michaelmurray8742]

Great video!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@rk41gator]

Billie Holiday is Style and Substance!

[@Raypirri]

Sooo good Andy- when focussed you rock! “What we as human beings, aspire to do -great things but also are pulled down by life.” This sort of video encourages one to seek out even more from the beauty and inspiration that comes from the magic of Jazz. Thank you Dude for the back stories and explanation. How can anyone not, dig Jazz?

[@bmuhamad]

Love Andy's enthusiasm about the performance. It is masterful. Ben Webster & "The President" Lester Young's accompaniment, doesn't get any better.😮 Flavor and tasteful. A pleasure seeing Mr. Mulligan dancing to Coleman Hawkins' solo, Thanks 😊🎉

[@atheistbushman]

I agree, this Holiday recording is wonderful and iconic, sad and beautiful

[@armandom28]

It’s great footage….but the footage of Art Tatum is even better

[@bluecrueful]

Mulligan meets Monk is a fantastic album too

[@gjingodjango]

When you look into a puddle you see the stars

[@goodknight37]

Wow I didn’t know about this footage. 👍I love “the sound of jazz” album

[@rogeraslop]

Yep, the Lady and the Prez

[@b.rosannaruffo551]

This is my favorite video of yours. Just brilliant, thank you

[@jeremiahmartens6008]

Incredible Andy. I love every video. Learning so much everytime. My favorite channel for 2 years now.

[@fliprim]

Great insights and commentary. Blues with its space and time to be able to invent. The trombone and its wanton, expressive laxity, the polar opposite of our tumble towards the digital button press, trumpet to autotune.

[@johannhauffman323]

Thanks for making this video Andy. I feel music is a form of communication. This song is a wonderful example. Even if you did not understand English, you Would understand these amazing musicians. It touches my heart. Thanks for doing what you do.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@johannhauffman323]

Thank you Andy for all you do. I have a question…. And it might be out of bounds…. But Are you ever going to listen to my 3 minute tune….. On Red Gardenien Street and comment if it is something to expand on or stick to rock? Just curious.@@AndyEdwardsDrummer

[@mirkocaserta]

I think, if you like music, you are curious where it comes from. The first album I remember enjoying listening to was Jaco's "Invitation", the live in Japan with the big band. Even though most of that album I still don't understand today (there's some really weird, far out stuff in there), the arrangements and the brilliance of it brought me to Jaco's first album that opens with "Donna Lee" and of course I had to go check out Charlie Parker and that is a trip that still goes on for me. I read everything I could about Bird and I understood he knew all of Lester Young's solos by heart. So from there to become someone who enjoys listening to obscure 78 rpms on YT, it was an obvious step. Unfortunately there isn't enough time in the world to listen to all the music one wishes to listen to. The people in this video are absolute legends and I think I understand the reason you made this so, I guess, thank you.

[@christophercheney1006]

When I think about baritone sax, I think about Angelo Moore, Fishbone!!!!!!

[@simonossitt2541]

Vic Dickinson, listen to his 9 minute Russian Lullaby, biggest selling single of it's time. By no means a landmark like this one, but great all the same. When not playing with Basie, Young, Hodges etc he headed up his own sextet. He even appears on Leon Redbone album Double Time in 77. One of my favourite videos of yours so far Andy. Nice one.

[@bluecrueful]

JJ Johnson was a flat out genius who changed the way the instrument (trombone) was played

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I had planned on mentioning him and Bob Brookmeyer, but with these videos I have to go with the flow

[@jeffreytaylor6257]

Powerful. Any thoughts about Ella? JT

[@mnpv7812]

Great video! I need to check our more 30's-50's jazz. I got hooked on latin music in the 80's. One of my instructor's suggested Elis Regina's 1973 Brazilian public broadcast concert. Filmed in black & white and using very close-up camera technique's, she is my favorite jazz singer of all time. Her performance is dripping with emotion and personality. Check out Upa Neguinho & Aguas De Marco- Paulo Braga is an absolute master bossa and samba drummer!

[@choboutube]

Thing was that Lester and Billie were great friends, but they had a big falling out. They hadn't seen each other for ages. Both were dead within a few years.

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

The saxophone boom of the 1920s, in popular music rather than the straight ahead jazz of the time, the Rudys - Wiedoef and Vallee, and the Six Brown Brothers, had more to do with the popularity of the saxophone over the trumpet than Coleman Hawkins. Even in jazz, Frankie Trumbauer and Jimmy Dorsey were more well known than the Bean. Hawkins was the first popular tenor saxophonist though. Before Hawk, closed facings on tenor mouthpieces and the tenor's written voicings in big band arrangements had effected the tenor's place as a solo instrument. Also, Gerry Mulligan was already an established tenor saxophonist before switching to baritone saxophone.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

You know your stuff...Afrian Rollini is worth mentioning, especially his work on bass sax, all very early as well

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

*Wiedoeft

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

​@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Never enough the bass saxophone!! (with its even lower Eb and Bb saxophone siblings and Eppelshiem's modern tubax horns) Hector Berlioz had noted that the bass saxophone was the first in that family of horns which Adolphe Sax had been seen to play in public in 1842.

[@mickfretless]

congrats on the haircut

[@grooveyerbouti]

Love the video. Is there a Billie Holiday album you'd reccomend? I have noticed I seem to prefer live shows for instance Ella Fitzgerald album is live they seem to pop more than studio recordings.

[@DWHarper62]

Didn't Billie Holiday play Strange Fruit at this same session?...

[@AlmostEthical]

Lovely stuff but Max Roach's Driva Man and Coltrane's Alabama are my favourites.

[@MauriceHotblack]

I don't really get Ella but Billie just kills me.

[@karlsmith2052]

Such a boring presentation about something that is truly wonderful and speaks for itself.

[@charlesbarry971]

Most of the performers wete on their last legs

[@martinrenzhofer8241]

Would today's producers Autotune Billie Holiday?

[@TheOverlordOfProcrastination]

Nice pajamas. M&S?…

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

i can't afford to go there

[@herculesrockefeller8969]

Andy > Beato

[@boq780_2.0]

Beatwho?

[@PhilBaird1]

I reckon Rick and Andy have just about got it covered. This was a superb analysis by Andy.

[@jimkourtesis2589]

I’m gonna have to reserve my judgement on this till we find out Mr Beato’s position on biscuits.

[@bangcolt]

The great jazz historian (and civil libertarian) Nat Hentoff called Lester Young’s solo here the purest blues ever recorded. That’s because it was “love talk” between two tortured souls once extremely close but then estranged for years getting a final chance to express their love for each other through music. This is why music will forever be the most expressive of all human art forms.