Larry Young (jazz)
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Larry Young (also known as Khalid Yasin (Abdul Aziz) ( October 7, 1940 in Newark, New Jersey—March 30, 1978 in New York City) was an American jazz organist and occasional pianist. Young pioneered a modal approach to the Hammond B-3 (in contrast to Jimmy Smith's soul-jazz style). However, he did play soul-jazz also, among other styles.
Young played with various R&B bands in the 1950s before gaining jazz experience with Jimmy Forrest, Lou Donaldson, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Tommy Turrentine. Recording as a leader for Prestige from 1960, Young made a number of soul-jazz discs, Testifying, Young Blues and Groove Street. When Young went to Blue Note in 1964, his music began to show the marked influence of John Coltrane. In this period, he produced his most enduring work. He recorded many times as part of a trio with guitarist Grant Green and drummer Elvin Jones, occasionally augmented by additional players; most of this sequence of albums was released under Green's name, though Into Somethin' (with Sam Rivers on saxophone) became Young's Blue Note debut. Unity, recorded in 1965, remains his best-known album; it features a front line of Joe Henderson and the young Woody Shaw. Subsequent albums for Blue Note (Contrasts, Of Love and Peace, Heaven On Earth, Mother Ship) also drew on elements of the '60s avant-garde and utilised local musicians from Young's hometown of Newark. Young then became a part of some of the earliest fusion experiments: he played on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew, then joined The Tony Williams Lifetime with guitarist John McLaughlin. His sound with Lifetime was made distinct by his often very percussive approach and often heavy use of guitar and synthesizer-like effects. He is also known to rock fans for a jam he recorded with Jimi Hendrix, which was released after Hendrix's death on the album Nine to the Universe.
Young died from untreated pneumonia at the age of 37.
[edit] Selected discography
- Testifying, 1960, Prestige.
- Young Blues, 1960, Prestige.
- Groove Street, 1962, Prestige.
- Into Somethin', 1964, Blue Note.
- Unity, 1965, Blue Note.
- Of Love and Peace, 1966, Blue Note.
- Contrasts, 1967, Blue Note.
- Heaven on Earth, 1968, Blue Note.
- Mother Ship, 1969, Blue Note.
- Lawrence of Newark, 1973, Perception.
- Fuel, 1975, Arista.
- Spaceball, 1975, Arista.
- The Magician, 1977, Acanta/Bellaphon (Germany).
As sideman
- Miles Davis, Bitches Brew, 1969, Columbia.
- Joe Chambers, "Double Exposure", 1978, Muse
- Carlos Santana, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, "Love Devotion Surrender", 1972 Columbia
[edit] Notes
- Sterling, Guy. 'Larry Young's Tragic Genius', in 'Newark Star-Ledger,' March 30, 2003.
