The Velvet Lounge was a nightclub in the South Loop of Chicago. It started as a jazz club and was called the "dusty epicenter of the Midwest's free form jazz scene." It was located at 2128 1/2 S. Indiana Avenue before moving to 67 E. Cermak when the original building was scheduled for demolition. It closed permanently in 2019.
55-584: 41°53′N 87°38′W / 41.883°N 87.633°W / 41.883; -87.633 The club was established in 1983 by jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson who owned the business until his death in 2010. Many live albums were recorded at the club, including a series of performances featuring Anderson himself, on the Delmark label, and 1998's Live at the Velvet Lounge with Anderson, Peter Kowald , and Hamid Drake . Many prominent musicians played
110-632: A 'mutuality' - a special kind of collective enterprise that requires its members to achieve a 'high degree of autonomy' while maintaining a sense of 'full partner[ship]'... Anderson’s inclusiveness and ardent support of his collaborators' creative development performed a crucial leveling function, partially erasing generational boundaries and also re-focusing the group on their autonomous, continually unfolding expressive aims." George E. Lewis recalled: "Fred let you play as long as you wanted, and you could try out anything." In February 1977, Anderson and Brimfield visited Europe, where they recorded Accents with
165-478: A 1946 trio date with Buddy Rich and Nat King Cole . "Ivey-Divey" was one of Lester Young's common eccentric phrases. Young was the subject and inspiration of Prez. Homage to Lester Young (1993), a book of poetry by Vancouver writer Jamie Reid. Young was the subject of an opera, Prez: A Jazz Opera , that was written by Bernard Cash and Alan Plater and broadcast by BBC television in 1985. Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains
220-523: A bar in Chicago called the Velvet Lounge , and transformed it into a center for the city's jazz and experimental music scenes, hosting Sunday jam sessions and numerous concerts. The club expanded and relocated in the summer of 2006. According to John Fordham, "The venue became a spiritual home to many musicians who shared the uncommercial player's perennial need for an intimate space run by, and for,
275-509: A book titled "Exercises for the Creative Musician". In the early 1960s, Anderson began listening to and studying the music of Ornette Coleman , and immediately related Coleman's playing to that of Charlie Parker . He recalled: "When I heard Ornette Coleman back in those days... I knew exactly what he was doing. It wasn’t strange to me. I knew exactly where he was coming from." At around this time, influenced by Coleman, he formed
330-495: A brother, Leonidas Raymond , known as Lee Young, who became a drummer, and a sister, Irma Cornelia. He grew up in a musical family. His father was a teacher and band leader. While growing up in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans , he worked from the age of five to make money for the family. He sold newspapers and shined shoes. By the time he was ten, he had learned the basics of the trumpet , violin , and drums , and joined
385-406: A decade beginning in the early 1980s. (Recordings from this sparse period include Vintage Duets with drummer Steve McCall , recorded in 1980 but not released until 1994, and The Milwaukee Tapes Vol. 1 , with Brimfield, Drake, and bassist Larry Hayrod, also recorded in 1980 but not released until 2000. ) In 1990, however, he received the first Jazz Masters Fellowship from Arts Midwest, and by
440-581: A four-piece jazz combo led by Dwight Andrews. In the 1986 film Round Midnight , the fictional main character Dale Turner, played by Dexter Gordon, was partly based on Young – incorporating flashback references to his army experiences, and loosely depicting his time in Paris and his return to New York just before his death. Young is a major character in English writer Geoff Dyer 's 1991 fictional book about jazz, But Beautiful . The 1994 documentary about
495-465: A gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". Known for his hip, introverted style, he invented or popularized much of the hipster jargon which came to be associated with the music. Lester Young was born in Woodville , Mississippi, on August 27, 1909, to Lizetta Young (née Johnson), and Willis Handy Young, originally from Louisiana. Lester had two siblings –
550-572: A member of the Blue Devils led by Walter Page . In 1933, Young settled in Kansas City , where after playing briefly in several bands, he rose to prominence with Count Basie . His playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the more forceful approach of Coleman Hawkins , the dominant tenor sax player of the day. One of Young's key influences
605-600: A new organization to promote their music. In 1965, the AACM was born, with Anderson as one of its earliest members. (As per George E. Lewis , Anderson was not a charter member, but attended the early meetings and got in on the ground floor.) On August 16, 1965, Anderson played on the first AACM event as part of the Joseph Jarman Quintet, which also featured Brimfield as well as bassist Charles Clark and drummer Arthur Reed. In late 1966, Anderson participated in
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#1732772049799660-400: A piano-less band with trumpeter Bill Brimfield, with whom he had been practicing since 1957, bassist Bill Fletcher, and drummer Vernon Thomas, playing a mixture of bebop standards and Anderson originals. In 1963, Anderson began participating in weekly jam sessions in Chicago, where he met Roscoe Mitchell , Joseph Jarman , and Richard Abrams , with whom he began discussing the idea of forming
715-610: A reunion in 1944), they are named after the group, the Kansas City Seven, and comprised Buck Clayton , Dicky Wells , Basie, Young, Freddie Green , Rodney Richardson , and Jo Jones . Young played clarinet as well as tenor in these sessions. Young is described as playing the clarinet in a "liquid, nervous style." As well as the Kansas City Sessions , his clarinet work from 1938–39 is documented on recordings with Basie, Billie Holiday , Basie small groups, and
770-555: A reunion with pianist Teddy Wilson, trumpet player Roy Eldridge , trombonist Vic Dickenson , bassist Gene Ramey , and drummer Jo Jones – which were issued as The Jazz Giants '56 and Pres and Teddy albums. 1956 was a relatively good year for Lester Young, including a tour of Europe with Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet and a successful residency at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, DC , with
825-462: A small number of clichéd phrases and reduced creativity and originality, despite his claims that he did not want to be a "repeater pencil" (Young coined this phrase to describe the act of repeating one's own past ideas). Young's playing and health went into a crisis, culminating in a November 1955 hospital admission following a nervous breakdown . He emerged from this treatment improved. In January 1956, he recorded two Granz-produced sessions including
880-540: A story called "Pork Pie Hat", a fictionalized account of the life of Lester Young. Straub was inspired by Young's appearance on the 1957 CBS-TV show The Sound of Jazz , which he watched repeatedly, wondering how such a genius could have ended up "this present shambles, this human wreckage, hardly able to play at all". On 17 March 2003, Young was added to the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame, along with Sidney Bechet, Al Cohn, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee and Teddy Wilson. He
935-687: A tribute called "Lester Left Town," which was released on the Jazz Messengers' 1960 album The Big Beat . In 1981 OyamO (Charles F. Gordon) published the book The Resurrection of Lady Lester , subtitled "A Poetic Mood Song Based on the Legend of Lester Young", depicting Young's life. The work was subsequently adapted for the theater, and was staged in November of that year at the Manhattan Theater Club , New York City , with
990-778: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fred Anderson (musician) Fred Anderson (March 22, 1929 – June 24, 2010) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who was based in Chicago, Illinois. Anderson's playing was rooted in the swing music and hard bop idioms, but he also incorporated innovations from free jazz . Anderson was also noted for having mentored numerous young musicians. Critic Ben Ratliff called him "a father figure of experimental jazz in Chicago". Writer John Corbett referred to him as "scene caretaker, underground booster, indefatigable cultural worker, quiet force for good." In 2001, author John Litweiler called Anderson "the finest tenor saxophonist in free jazz/underground jazz/outside jazz today." Anderson
1045-743: The Bill Potts Trio. Live recording of Young and Potts in Washington were issued later. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Young occasionally played as a featured guest with the Count Basie Orchestra. The best-known of these appearances is the July 1957 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival , with a line-up including many of his 1940s colleagues: Jo Jones, Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet and Jimmy Rushing . In 1952 he
1100-486: The CBS television special The Sound of Jazz , performing Holiday's tune " Fine and Mellow ." It was a reunion with Holiday, with whom he had lost contact over the years. She was also in physical decline, near the end of her career, yet they both gave moving performances. Young's solo was brilliant, acclaimed by some observers as an unparalleled marvel of economy, phrasing and extraordinarily moving emotion; Nat Hentoff , one of
1155-600: The Chicago Jazz Festival . In 2002, the festival honored Anderson, and he appeared as a soloist with the NOW Orchestra , conducted by George E. Lewis , and featuring Bill Brimfield and Roscoe Mitchell . Meanwhile, the Velvet Lounge became internationally known, attracting artists from around the world. In 2005, the Vision Festival presented Fred Anderson Day in his honor, and in 2009,
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#17327720497991210-448: The Velvet Lounge hosted an 80th-birthday celebration featuring four sets of music from some of Chicago's top jazz artists. He continued to record and tour throughout the 2000s, and continued mentoring countless younger musicians, including Harrison Bankhead , Nicole Mitchell , and Dee Alexander , stating "My role in the city is to keep young musicians playing. I will always have a place for them to play." He died on June 24, 2010, at
1265-543: The Young Family Band touring with carnivals and playing in regional cities in the Southwest. Young's early musical influences included Louis Armstrong , Bix Beiderbecke , Jimmy Dorsey , and Frankie Trumbauer . In his teens, he and his father clashed, and he often left home for long periods. His family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1919 and Young stayed there for much of the 1920s, first picking up
1320-525: The "greatest man around" in Billie's mind. Playing on her name, he would call her "Lady Day." Their famously empathetic classic recordings with Teddy Wilson date from this era. After Young's clarinet was stolen in 1939, he abandoned the instrument until about 1957. That year Norman Granz gave him one and urged him to play it (with very different results at that stage in Young's life—see below). Young left
1375-595: The '50s, adding an emotional intensity to his sound that had not been present during the more carefree days of the '30s. This classic session finds the great tenor in particularly expressive form. Lester married three times. His first marriage was to Beatrice Tolliver, in Albuquerque , on 23 February 1930. His second was to Mary Dale. His third wife was Mary Berkeley; they had two children. On December 8, 1957, Young appeared with Billie Holiday , Coleman Hawkins , Ben Webster , Roy Eldridge, and Gerry Mulligan in
1430-512: The 1958 Esquire " A Great Day in Harlem " photograph of jazz musicians in New York, contains many remembrances of Young. For many of the other participants, the photo shoot was the last time they saw him alive; he was the first musician in the famous photo to pass away. Don Byron recorded the album Ivey-Divey in gratitude for what he learned from studying Lester Young's work, modeled after
1485-513: The Austrian trio Neighbours (pianist Dieter Glawischnig, bassist Ewald Oberleitner, and drummer Joe Preininger). In May of that year, Anderson opened a venue in Chicago that he named the Birdhouse , named after Charlie Parker. Unfortunately, Anderson encountered resistance and harassment from officials and people in the neighborhood, who were suspicious of his motives, and he ended up closing
1540-500: The Basie band in late 1940. He is rumored to have refused to play with the band on Friday, December 13 of that year for superstitious reasons, spurring his dismissal, although Young and drummer Jo Jones would later state that his departure had been in the works for months. He subsequently led a number of small groups that often included his brother, drummer Lee Young , for the next couple of years; live and broadcast recordings from this period exist. During this period, Young accompanied
1595-415: The Basie fold for a 10-month stint, cut short by his being drafted into the army during World War II . Recordings made during this and subsequent periods suggest Young was beginning to make much greater use of a plastic reed, which tended to give his playing a somewhat heavier, breathier tone (although still quite smooth compared to that of many other players). While he never abandoned the cane reed, he used
1650-671: The Blues . In September 1944, Young and Jo Jones were in Los Angeles with the Basie Band when they were inducted into the U.S. Army . Unlike many white musicians, who were placed in band outfits such as the ones led by Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw , Young was assigned to the regular army where he was not allowed to play his saxophone. Based in Ft. McClellan , Alabama, Young was found with marijuana and alcohol among his possessions. He
1705-695: The Fred Anderson Sextet, with trombonist George E. Lewis , reedist Douglas Ewart , bassist Felix Blackmon, drummer Hamid Drake (then known as Hank), and vocalist Iqua Colson , all of whom were much younger than Anderson. Paul Steinbeck of the University of Chicago wrote: "These performers were a full generation younger than Anderson and comparatively inexperienced, yet he granted them considerable creative agency as members of his band... The expressive multiplicity and non-hierarchic social structure promoted by Anderson made his 1970s band resemble
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1760-720: The Philharmonic troupe in 1946, touring regularly with JATP over the next 12 years. He made many studio recordings under Granz's supervision as well, including more trio recordings with Nat King Cole . Young also recorded extensively in the late 1940s for Aladdin Records (1945-1947, where he had made the Cole recordings in 1942) and for Savoy (1944, 1949 and 1950), some sessions of which included Basie on piano. From around 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking increased. His playing showed reliance on
1815-751: The Velvet Lounge early in their careers, particularly in Sunday night jam sessions. The club's standard lineup of the early 1990s featured trumpeter Billy Brimfield [ de ] , saxophonist Art Taylor , pianist Jim Baker [ de ] , bassist Mike Cristol [ de ] , and drummer Gerald Donovan [ de ] . From the mid 1990s, the "Velvet Graduates" house band included tenor saxophonist David Boykin [ de ] , baritone saxophonist Aaron Getsug [ de ] , alto saxophonist Greg Ward [ de ] II, bassist Karl E. H. Seigfried , and drummer Isaiah Spencer [ de ] . After Anderson's death,
1870-584: The age of 81, and was survived by two sons, Michael and Eugene (a third son, Kevin, predeceased him), as well as five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was scheduled to perform the day he died. With Muhal Richard Abrams With The Art Ensemble of Chicago With Joseph Jarman With Misha Mengelberg With Neighbours With Matana Roberts With Irene Schweizer and Hamid Drake With Ken Vandermark and Territory Band-6 Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez",
1925-519: The club a year later. In 1978, Anderson visited Europe again with a quintet, playing at the Moers festival, where he recorded Another Place , his first album as a leader. In 1979, he recorded Dark Day with Brimfield, bassist Steven Palmore, and drummer Hamid Drake , and The Missing Link with bassist Larry Hayrod, Drake , and percussionist Adam Rudolph . (The second album was not released until 1984. ) In 1982, Anderson took over ownership of
1980-544: The club was purchased by a neighboring business which ended the jazz performances and instead presented DJs, hip hop music, and comedians. In 2013, Mike Reed founded the Constellation club, in part to fill the void left after the Velvet Lounge closed. This jazz club or venue-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a building or structure in Chicago
2035-637: The effects of alcoholism and died in the early morning hours of March 15, 1959, only hours after arriving back in New York, at the age of 49. According to jazz critic Leonard Feather , who rode with Holiday in a taxi to Young's funeral, she said after the services, "I'll be the next one to go." Holiday died four months later on July 17, 1959, at age 44. Young's playing style influenced many musicians, including John Coltrane , Stan Getz , B.B. King , John Lewis , Zoot Sims , Al Cohn , Warne Marsh , Gerry Mulligan , Lee Konitz , and Paul Desmond . Paul Quinichette modeled his style so closely on Young's that he
2090-443: The mid-1990s, he resumed a more active recording schedule, both as a solo artist, and in collaboration with younger performers, such as pianist Marilyn Crispell ( Destiny ), with whom he toured in 1994, and often with familiar colleagues such as Hamid Drake and Bill Brimfield. In 1999, Anderson and Von Freeman appeared as soloists with a 30-piece orchestra in a performance of a work composed and conducted by Edward Wilkerson at
2145-621: The name "Theme for Lester Young" on his 1964 album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus . At Mingus’s request, Joni Mitchell wrote lyrics to “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” which incorporated stories Mingus told Mitchell about Young; the song was featured on Mitchell’s 1979 album release, Mingus , a collaboration instigated by Mingus during the last year of his life as he struggled with the ALS that would kill him. The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, and, implicitly, Mingus as well. Wayne Shorter , then of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers , composed
2200-521: The organist Glenn Hardman. Billie and Lester met at a Harlem jam session in the early 30s and worked together in the Count Basie band and in nightclubs on New York's 52nd St. At one point Lester moved into the apartment Billie shared with her mother, Sadie Fagan. Holiday always insisted their relationship was strictly platonic. She gave Lester the nickname "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt ,
2255-503: The people who cared." Regarding the environment at the Velvet Lounge, Paul Steinbeck wrote, "Under Anderson's supervision, participating musicians were encouraged to develop performance methodologies that were 'contributive, not competitive'... the musical and social practices that had characterized Anderson's bands since the 1960s were transmitted, in whole or in part, to a broader network of performers and listeners." Though he remained an active performer, Anderson rarely recorded for about
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2310-469: The plastic reed a significant share of the time from 1943 until the end of his life. Another cause for the thickening of his tone around this time was a change in saxophone mouthpiece from a metal Otto Link to an ebonite Brilhart. In August 1944, Young appeared alongside drummer Jo Jones , trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison , and fellow tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Gjon Mili 's short film Jammin'
2365-562: The recording of Jarman's debut album, Song For , and in 1968, he played on Jarman's As If It Were the Seasons . Both albums were released on the Delmark label. In the late 1960s, when many of his AACM colleagues moved to Europe, Anderson chose to remain behind, supporting his wife and three young children by working at a rug company, practicing his instrument, and heading the AACM's Evanston chapter with Brimfield. Around 1972 he formed
2420-544: The show's producers, later commented, "Lester got up, and he played the purest blues I have ever heard ... in the control room we were all crying." Young made his final studio recordings and live performances in Paris in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the tail end of an abbreviated European tour during which he ate next to nothing and drank heavily. On a flight to New York City, he suffered from internal bleeding due to
2475-643: The singer Billie Holiday in a couple of studio sessions (1937–1941) and also made a small set of recordings with Nat "King" Cole (their first of several collaborations) in June 1942. His studio recordings are relatively sparse during the 1942 to 1943 period, largely due to the recording ban by the American Federation of Musicians . Small record labels not bound by union contracts continued to record, and Young recorded some sessions for Harry Lim's Keynote label in 1943. In December 1943, Young returned to
2530-612: The tenor saxophone while living there. Young left the family band in 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour in the Southern United States , where Jim Crow laws were in effect and racial segregation was required in public facilities. He became a member of the Bostonians, led by Art Bronson, and chose the tenor saxophone over the alto as his primary instrument. He made a habit of leaving, working, then going home. He left home permanently in 1932 when he became
2585-435: The term " cool " to mean something fashionable. Another slang term he is rumoured to have popularized was the term "bread" for money. He would ask, "How does the bread smell?" when asking how much a gig was going to pay. Charles Mingus dedicated an elegy to Young, " Goodbye Pork Pie Hat ", only a few months after his death, and released it on his 1959 album Mingus Ah Um . Mingus re-released "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" under
2640-557: The time, Anderson did not play with dance bands or school ensembles, and instead focused on practicing, taking private lessons, and studying music theory at the Roy Knapp Conservatory in Chicago, all the while supporting his family by working as a waiter. He also began making an effort to develop a personal sound on his instrument, with the goal of combining Ammons' "big sound" with Parker's speed. Regarding Parker's influence, Anderson stated: "I tried to figure out how he
2695-696: Was Frankie Trumbauer , who came to prominence in the 1920s with Paul Whiteman and played the C-melody saxophone (between the alto and tenor in pitch). Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson 's orchestra. He soon left Henderson to play in the Andy Kirk band (for six months) before returning to Basie. While with Basie, Young made small-group recordings for Milt Gabler 's Commodore Records , The Kansas City Sessions . Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with
2750-399: Was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie 's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like
2805-656: Was born in Monroe, Louisiana . When he was ten, his parents separated, and he moved to Evanston, Illinois , where he initially lived with his mother and aunt in a one-room apartment. When Anderson was a teenager, a friend introduced him to the music of Charlie Parker , and he soon decided he wanted to play saxophone, purchasing his first instrument for $ 45. He listened to Lester Young , Johnny Hodges , Dexter Gordon , Gene Ammons , and Illinois Jacquet , all of whom would influence his playing. He also heard Young and Parker in concert on multiple occasions. Unlike many musicians at
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#17327720497992860-489: Was doing certain things - not so much the notes that he was playing. He had a unique way about placing things." He also recalled: "Charlie Parker was one of the freest musicians I had ever heard... [his] technique was superb. Each one of the notes would just come out and hit you... His music was so involved. It was hard. It's still hard." At around this time, he began to develop a series of exercises which he incorporated into his daily practice routine, and which eventually became
2915-517: Was featured on Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio , released in 1954 on Norgran . In 1956, he recorded two LPs with his 1930s collaborators Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones . Allmusic's Scott Yanow, reviewing one of the albums, Pres and Teddy , commented: Although it has been written much too often that Lester Young declined rapidly from the mid-'40s on, the truth is that when he was healthy, Young played at his very best during
2970-412: Was sometimes referred to as the "Vice Prez" (sic). Sonny Stitt began to incorporate elements from Lester Young's approach when he made the transition to tenor saxophone . Lester Young also had a direct influence on the young Charlie Parker , and thus the entire bebop movement. Young also influenced non-musicians such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac . He is also said to have popularized use of
3025-483: Was soon court-martialed . Young did not fight the charges and was convicted. He served one traumatic year in a detention barracks and was dishonorably discharged in late 1945. His experience inspired his composition "D.B. Blues" (with D.B. standing for detention barracks). Young's career after World War II was far more prolific and lucrative than in the pre-war years in terms of recordings made, live performances, and annual income. Young joined Norman Granz 's Jazz at
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