Larry Young (also known as Khalid Yasin ''Abdul Aziz October 7, 1940 – March 30, 1978) was an American jazz organist and occasional pianist. Young's early work was strongly influenced by the soul jazz of Jimmy Smith, but he later pioneered a more experimental, modal approach to the

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States, Young attended Newark Arts High School, where he began performing with a vocal group and a jazz band. He was also the cousin of the drummer Jimmie Smith. 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 Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

from 1960, Young made a number of soul jazz discs, '' Testifying'', '' Young Blues'' and '' Groove Street''. When Young signed with Blue Note around 1964, his music began to show the marked influence of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

. In this period, he produced his most enduring work. He recorded several times as part of a trio with guitarist

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

and drummer

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

, who were occasionally augmented by additional players. Most of these albums were 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 Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century's most important and influentia ...

. Subsequent albums for Blue Note (''Contrasts'', ''Of Love and Peace'', ''Heaven On Earth'', ''Mother Ship'') also drew on elements of the 1960s avant-garde and utilised local musicians from Young's hometown of Newark. Young then became a part of some of the earliest fusion groups: first on ''Emergency!'' with the Tony Williams Lifetime (with Tony Williams and John McLaughlin) and also on

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

's '' Bitches Brew''. His sound with Lifetime was made distinctive by his often very percussive approach and regular heavy use of guitar and synthesizer-like effects. He is also known for a jam he recorded with rock guitarist

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, which was released after Hendrix's death on the album, '' Nine to the Universe''. In March 1978, he checked into a hospital for stomach pains. He died there on March 30, 1978, while being treated for what is said to have been pneumonia. However, the actual cause of his death is unclear.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With

* '' Bitches Brew'' ( Columbia, 1970) – rec. 1969 * '' Big Fun'' (Columbia, 1974) – 1969 sessions only With

* ''

Talkin' About! ''Talkin' About!'' is an American jazz guitarist Grant Green album featuring performances recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note, 1965) – rec. 1964 * '' His Majesty King Funk'' ( Verve, 1965) * ''

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

'' (Blue Note, 1966) – rec. 1965 * '' Street of Dreams'' (Blue Note, 1967) – rec. 1964 With Gildo Mahones * '' I'm Shooting High'' (Prestige, 1964) – rec. 1963 * '' The Great Gildo'' (Prestige, 1965) – rec. 1963-64 With John McLaughlin * '' Devotion'' (Douglas, 1970) * '' Love Devotion Surrender'' with

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

(Columbia, 1972) With The Tony Williams Lifetime * ''

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

'' (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 1969) * '' Turn It Over'' (Polydor, 1970) * '' Ego'' (Polydor, 1971) With others *

Joe Chambers Joe Chambers (born June 25, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, and Chick Corea an ...

, '' Double Exposure'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, 1978) – rec. 1977 * Jimmy Forrest, '' Forrest Fire'' (New Jazz, 1960) * Etta Jones, '' Love Shout'' (Prestige, 1963) – rec. 1962-63 * Pony Poindexter and Booker Ervin, '' Gumbo!'' (Prestige, 1963) - with bonus tracks on CD *

, '' In the Beginning'' (Muse, 1983) - rec. 1965. also released as ''Cassandranite''. * Thornel Schwartz and Bill Leslie, '' Soul Cookin''' ( Argo, 1962) - Young listed as "Lawrence Olds" * Buddy Terry, '' Natural Soul'' (Prestige, 1968) – rec. 1967 * Love Cry Want (Nicholas/Gallivan/Young), ''Love Cry Want'' (Newjazz.com, 1997) - rec. 1972

References

External links