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Billy Taylor - Jelly Roll and Lester Young

From: ARTSEDGE
Series: Billy Taylor: Where I Came From
Length: 08:01

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Billy Taylor and Frank Wess talk about encounters with Jelly Roll Morton & Lester Young Read the full description.

250pxjellyrollmortonphoto_small Billy Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of Dunbar High School, long-gone DC clubs... and jazz legends Jelly Roll Morton and Lester Young.

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Piece Description

Billy Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of Dunbar High School, long-gone DC clubs... and jazz legends Jelly Roll Morton and Lester Young.

Transcript

MUSIC - Jazzmobile All Stars - SKETCH

TAYLOR: I'm Billy Taylor.
WESS: And I'm Frank Wess.
TAYLOR: And we're talking about Jazz in Washington, DC

MUSIC - Jazzmobile All Stars - SKETCH

TAYLOR: When'd you start playing?
WESS: I started when I was ten years old in Oklahoma and the saxophone was as big as I was and they just put me out on stage, you know and I played it so much like -- when I heard (singing) "ba-dah-da-da-da-dah" I was on automatic pilot. You know-- I'm gone. You know.
TAYLOR: Dunbar High School was a unique school. We used to have jam sessions in the lunching room. And we would play some jazz and things that we want -- popular things that we wanted to play.
WESS: When I got to Washington, my horn had turned green you know (laughs) and I'm -- and then when I heard Billy and Billy White and John Greene and Justin Someby and all the cats jammin', you know, every l...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

In: (music) I'm Billy Taylor
OQ: thanks for listening (music sting)

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Sketch Jazzmobile All Stars Jazzmobile All Stars. Taylor Made 1989 00:27
Pep Jelly Roll Morton 1928-1929. Classics 1929 00:15
Original Jelly Roll blues Jelly Roll Morton 1923-1929, Vol. 1. Neatwork 2001 00:19
Cavernism Earl Hines Black Legends of Jazz. GRP/Decca 1959 00:13
Stardust Coleman Hawkins Hawk in Holland. 1937 00:00
I Want to Be Happy Lester Young Jammin' with Lester [History]. Jazz Archives 1947 00:00

Related Website

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3947/