Home » Jazz News » Obituary

91

Lee Young - Ellington and Goodman Drummer - LA Times Obituary

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Lee Young, 94; jazz drummer played with Ellington, Goodman Lee Young, performing in 1941, was the first African American hired as a staff musician at a Hollywood studio, signing on with Columbia Pictures in 1946.

Lee Young, a jazz drummer who served as Nat King Cole's musical director for nearly a decade and broke barriers as the first African American hired for a staff position with a Hollywood studio orchestra, has died. He was 94.

Young, brother of the great tenor saxophonist Lester Young, died July 31 at his Los Angeles home of complications from colon cancer, according to his grandson, Wren T. Brown.

The multitalented Young, who played on scores of recordings, was also a successful bandleader and mentor of young talent, including alto saxophonist Art Pepper. Over the course of his career, Young played with a who's who of jazz greats, including Fats Waller, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Ethel Waters and Billie Holiday.

While Young worked at MGM in the late 1930s, he taught Mickey Rooney how to play drums for the film “Strike Up the Band."

In July 1944, Young was on the drums at Norman Granz's historic first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Philharmonic Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The lively jam session was a fundraiser for the Mexican youths wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to San Quentin in the notorious Sleepy Lagoon case.

Cole was on the bill that day, as were saxophonist Benny Carter, pianist Teddy Wilson and guitarist Les Paul. JATP, as the sessions came to be known, became the template for a nationwide concert tour of top jazz stars, often including Young and his brother.

In 1953 Young started an association with Cole, serving as the great singer's musical director and drummer until 1962.

Continue Reading...

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.