How Lester Young Invented Cool

Hip Lip

Not content to invent a much-copied yet incomparable musical style, jazz saxophonist Lester Young indelibly shaped American speech, too, from cool to crib to homeboy.

Published Apr. 12 2015 6:45AM EDT

Who is the most influential musician in the history of jazz? Is it Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis? Billie Holiday or Duke Ellington? Benny Goodman or Thelonious Monk? John Coltrane or Charlie Parker?

Faced with such an extraordinary range of choices, I simply can’t make up my mind.

Ted Gioia

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How Lester Young Invented Cool

Not content to invent a much-copied yet incomparable musical style, jazz saxophonist Lester Young indelibly shaped American speech, too, from cool to crib to homeboy.

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Ted Gioia