(Bop, Cool, Post-Bop) Webster Young - For Lady - 1957, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Like the Don Sleet release, here is a Miles-influenced performer who was better known among musicians than the public. This was his best known album; songs associated with Billie Holiday. Billie's longtime accompanist, Mal Waldron, is a fitting addition to the group.
Sidenote: Earl May passed away about a week ago. He was active to the end. He would play in the lobby of Englewood Hospital (where Dizzy spent his last days) and very few people knew who he was. Rufus Reid seems to have taken over his spot as of last week. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by some weekday afternoon and say hello.
While trumpeter Webster Young pays tribute to Billie Holiday on this, his only studio date as a leader, the set is equally a tribute to Young's musical role model, Miles Davis. Young has Miles' soft-focus tone from the early to mid-'50s and, according to Ira Gitler's liner notes, he is actually playing Miles' cornet on the date. The similarities between the two players make this 1957 session a satisfying companion to Miles' work circa 1951-1953. Young is nicely matched here with tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette, with the two of them using a pleasantly blowsy approach to weave loose, discursive counterpoint around each other. Guitarist Joe Puma distinguishes the set with thoughtful, understated playing that calls to mind Kenny Burrell's own Prestige dates from this period. Pianist Mal Waldron, drummer Ed Thigpen, and bassist Earl May infuse the performances with a cohesive, relaxed swing. They give each other lots of space, and Waldron makes astute choices in his chord selection, phrasing, and comping strategies. The tracks comprise five pieces associated with Holiday and one Young original, written in homage to Lady Day. True to Holiday's approach, the mood is world-weary, bordering on bleak, but with breaches of light like those that would briefly suffuse Holiday's songs. "Strange Fruit" is the one track that misses the mark. Where Holiday allowed the stark irony of the lyrics to carry the song, Young's instrumental version labors the point by including an execution squad drum roll. This could have been effective had it been limited to the intro and ending, but when Thigpen's martial snare also crops up midsong it breaks the subtle, macabre atmosphere of the piece.

623478136 74659580 01 - The Lady.wav
542366587 75645068 02 - God Bless The Child.wav
2163551253 82585820 03 - Moanin' Low.wav
2363129019 95044364 04 - Good Morning Heartache.wav
2249982819 76844588 05 - Don't Explain.wav
2810702575 45652364 06 - Strange Fruit.wav
auCDtect: CD records authenticity detector, version 0.8.2
Copyright (c) 2004 Oleg Berngardt. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2004 Alexander Djourik. All rights reserved.
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Processing file: [01 - The Lady.wav]
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This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
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Processing file: [02 - God Bless The Child.wav]
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This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
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Processing file: [03 - Moanin' Low.wav]
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Could not qualify the source of this track.
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Processing file: [04 - Good Morning Heartache.wav]
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This track looks like CDDA with probability 99%
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Processing file: [05 - Don't Explain.wav]
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This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
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Processing file: [06 - Strange Fruit.wav]
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This track looks like CDDA with probability 100%
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Final Conclusion:
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These tracks looks like CDDA with probability 100%