Lester Young
Tenor Sax Solo on
Tea For Two

About

Lester Young's tenor saxophone solo opens the solo section on "Tea for Two" from The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Young takes four choruses over the 32-bar ABAC form in A-flat at a driving 260 BPM, one of the fastest performances in this collection. Vincent Youmans's 1924 show tune, with its simple, ascending-scale melody, provides a framework that Young transforms through his signature rhythmic displacements and understated melodic logic. Even at this rapid tempo, Young's playing retains the airy, relaxed quality that set him apart from the harder-edged tenor tradition. Peterson and Kessel follow with their own four- and three-chorus statements.

Lester Young was 42 to 43 years old at the time.