Billy Lester

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William "Billy" Lester (born June 11, 1946 in Yonkers ) is an American jazz musician ( piano , composition ) of modern jazz .

Live and act

Lester played the piano at the age of four. After a classical training, partly with Sal Mosca , besides playing the piano also in transcription and harmony , he started a classical training at the Manhattan School of Music at the age of 18 . After seeing a performance by Lennie Tristano , he switched to jazz. At first it only appeared occasionally. He also worked part-time in his father's tire shop and gave piano lessons.

In 1985, he took in the Netherlands his debut album Captivatin 'Rhythm (zinnia) that followed ten years later, the New York City - where he also 1993/94 in the Cornelia Street Cafe performing with his trio - formed trio album At Liberty (with Sean Smith and Skip Scott). His last album so far ( From Scratch ) he recorded in 2018 with Rufus Reid and Matt Wilson . According to Ethan Iverson , Lester plays in the tradition of Lennie Tristanos. According to Tom Lord , he was involved in eight recording sessions between 1985 and 2018, including a. with the Sergio Armaroli Quintet and Simon Wettenhall.

Discographic notes

  • Four Into Four (Coppens, 2002), with Simon Wettenhall, Sean Smith, Russ Meissner
  • Visceral (Coppens, 2007), with Sean Smith, Russ Meissner
  • Italy 2016 (USR, 2016), with Marcello Testa , Nicola Stranieri

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Billy Lester, to Insightful Jazz Pianist Hiding in Plain Sight, Finally Has His Moment to Shine
  2. ^ New York Magazine October 4, 1993
  3. ↑ Ethan Iverson: Anthology. Do the Math, July 21, 2019, accessed July 24, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Tom Lord: The Jazz Discography (online, accessed July 21, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Lester, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lester, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician (piano)
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Yonkers