Lester Young 1939 ~ Original Lester Leaps In (Take 1) - YouTube
Lester and the Basie orchestra doing his signature song.
Where Lester Young established himself as “Prez” was during his stint with Billie Holiday where his sax work approached the sublime:
Billie Holiday - Lester Young 1937 ~ This Year's Kisses - YouTube
Without Your Love - Billie Holiday ft. Lester Young (Tenor Sax) - YouTube
Lester Young Speaks - Billie Holiday 1937 ~ A Sailboat In The Moonlight - YouTube
Lester and Billie were lovers during this time. Holiday, in fact, gave Lester the title of “Prez” as in “President of the Tenor Sax.” He gave her the moniker of “Lady Day.” In jazz, a bandleader would sometimes dub his best soloist with a title as “King” or the fans would dub a great bandleader with some such appellation. That’s why Buddy Bolden is often referred to as King Bolden and why Joe Oliver was usually referred to as King Oliver. Generally, once someone of stature in the jazz world bestowed a title on one of his or her musicians, it generally stuck. Lester took it in stride. He was not a narcissist or a braggart. He accepted the title of Prez but freely acknowledged in interviews that Coleman Hawkins was the original Prez. “I’m the second,” he said—an accurate assessment.