Lee Young, who emerged from a family with musical roots deep in New Orleans jazz, drummed for greats like Ellington and Basie, became a pioneering black man in music's executive suites -- and survived his musician brother, Lester, by a half-century -- died on July 31 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94.
The death was confirmed by his grandson Wren Brown.
In contrast to his brother, whose debilitating battle with alcohol and personal demons is almost as well known to jazz fans as his saxophone solos, Lee Young, a teetotaler, lived a long life of accomplishment in both performance and the music business.
His recollections, from touring in a carnival act as a child with Lester and their sister, Irma, in the 1920s; to playing drums and cutting his first records with Fats Waller in the 1930s; to helping forge a vibrant jazz scene in Los Angeles in the 1940s, were recorded by the oral history program of the University of California, Los Angeles.
His experiences included teaching Mickey Rooney to play drums for a movie and becoming the first black artist -- and for several years the only one -- to be a regular studio musician in Hollywood. He played drums and conducted for Nat King Cole.
Young played on literally thousands of records, said Phil Schaap, the jazz historian.
As a record producer, Young developed a reputation for knowing in advance what would sell, and he discovered Steely Dan, the jazz fusion-rock band.
Schaap called Young “a most significant figure in jazz who directly connected us to the music's early glories: the birth of jazz in New Orleans, the jazz age, the swing era and bebop." Schaap also said that Young, who led an integrated band when that was unusual, was “a hero in the fight for integration."
The death was confirmed by his grandson Wren Brown.
In contrast to his brother, whose debilitating battle with alcohol and personal demons is almost as well known to jazz fans as his saxophone solos, Lee Young, a teetotaler, lived a long life of accomplishment in both performance and the music business.
His recollections, from touring in a carnival act as a child with Lester and their sister, Irma, in the 1920s; to playing drums and cutting his first records with Fats Waller in the 1930s; to helping forge a vibrant jazz scene in Los Angeles in the 1940s, were recorded by the oral history program of the University of California, Los Angeles.
His experiences included teaching Mickey Rooney to play drums for a movie and becoming the first black artist -- and for several years the only one -- to be a regular studio musician in Hollywood. He played drums and conducted for Nat King Cole.
Young played on literally thousands of records, said Phil Schaap, the jazz historian.
As a record producer, Young developed a reputation for knowing in advance what would sell, and he discovered Steely Dan, the jazz fusion-rock band.
Schaap called Young “a most significant figure in jazz who directly connected us to the music's early glories: the birth of jazz in New Orleans, the jazz age, the swing era and bebop." Schaap also said that Young, who led an integrated band when that was unusual, was “a hero in the fight for integration."
For more information contact All About Jazz.
