Lester Young 4

The "Bird-Prez Birthday Broadcast", a 72 hour (and some years longer) marathon celebrating Lester Young and Charlie Parker around their birthday anniversaries, August 27 and August 29, is a long standing tradition at WKCR, and it is among our listeners' favorites. From the 2026 edition, here's a segment that includes a survey of Lester Young's recordings with small groups during the Big Band years of the 1936-1940 period when he was in the Count Basie orchestra.