A trio of Charlie Parker label releases from Lester Young – all served up in a single package! First up is Pres – rare live material from Lester Young – one of the first albums to offer up Pres in such a setting, although without some of the details and notes of other records of this nature! The vibe is definitely "live", and like some of the other Charlie Parker label releases, the record's a good document of a side of a key soloist in a setting that's different from his studio material – as the tunes are all quite long, and with a freer, looser sense of improvisation than on some of his studio sides. There's a trumpeter who gets in a lot of licks on the set (Roy Eldridge?) – and titles include "Destination Moon", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Sunday", "Lester Leaps In", and "Blues". Pres Is Blue is a 60s album, but one that features early 50s material recorded at the Savoy in New York – a live date that features tenor genius Lester Young blowing with an unusual combo that includes Kenny Drew on piano, Aaron Bell on bass, and Jo Jones on drums – plus the lesser-known Jesse Drake on trumpet! The tunes are standards, but opened up by Lester with a heck of a lot of warmth – on titles that include "Stardust", "Mean To Me", "Pennies From Heaven", and "Three Little Words". Just You Just Me is late 40s live work from Lester Young, recorded right on the scene in New York, likely at the Royal Roost – and presented as one of those key bebop documents that came out on the Charlie Parker label in the 60s! As the rest of those, the approach here isn't that of Verve or Norgran, but is a great illustration of the artist at work on the scene – on titles that include "DB Blues", "Be Bop Boogie", "Just You Just Me", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Sunday", and "These Foolish Things". CD

A 60s album, but one that features early 50s material recorded at the Savoy in New York – a live date that features tenor genius Lester Young blowing with an unusual combo that includes Kenny Drew on piano, Aaron Bell on bass, and Jo Jones on drums – plus the lesser-known Jesse Drake on trumpet! The tunes are standards, but opened up by Lester with a heck of a lot of warmth – on titles that include "Stardust", "Mean To Me", "Pennies From Heaven", and "Three Little Words". LP, Vinyl record album

Tenorist Fred Anderson made some fantastic albums for the Okka Disk label during the later years of his life – and this wonderful set has the legend making tremendous new fire with the label's excellent DKV Trio! Given that the group already features Ken Vandermark on saxes, the pairing of Anderson and Ken is a heck of a match – driven on strongly here by the bassist Kent Kessler, who's at the height of his powers during these years – and drummer Hamid Drake, whose range is maybe even more bold here than usual. Titles include "Planet E", "Lady's In Love", "Aaron's Tune", "Black Woman", "Our Theme", and "Dark Day". CD

Tenorist Fred Anderson made some fantastic albums for the Okka Disk label during the later years of his life – and this wonderful set has the legend making tremendous new fire with the label's excellent DKV Trio! Given that the group already features Ken Vandermark on saxes, the pairing of Anderson and Ken is a heck of a match – driven on strongly here by the bassist Kent Kessler, who's at the height of his powers during these years – and drummer Hamid Drake, whose range is maybe even more bold here than usual. Titles include "Planet E", "Lady's In Love", "Aaron's Tune", "Black Woman", "Our Theme", and "Dark Day". CD