Larry Young

Photo by Raymond Ross

Larry Young started off as a in the early 60's as a Soul-Jazz organist, but by 1965 was so taken by John Coltrane's music that he recorded a modal Jazz album with Joe Henderson, Woddy Shaw and Elvin Jones: Unity (Blue Note) is regarded by many as the best Jazz organ recording.

Young became the B-3's most talented innovator and went on to play with Tony Williams and Miles Davis in the late 60's/early 70's. With Williams and John McLaughlin, he formed the Lifetime trio which helped forge the Fusion genre. Young's funkier stuff on Arista is hard to find. He also recorded some sessions with Jimi Hendrix, from which one track was released on Hendrix' Nine To The Universe (Reprise).

Mosaic has released a 6 CD collection of all 9 of his 60's Blue Note albums as a leader and accompanist to Grant Green (MD6-137). Unfortunately, Unity is his only album Blue Note has re-issued as a single CD.

Discography

  (Thornel Schwartz)    Testifying                      1960    Prestige
  (Thornel Schwartz)    Young Blues                     1960    Prestige
  (Thornel Schwartz)    Groove Street                   1962    Prestige
  (Booker Ervin)        untitled (unissued)             1963    Prestige
  (G.Green/E.Jones)     Into Somethin'                  1964    Blue Note
  (J.Henderson/W.Shaw)  Unity                           1965    Blue Note
  (H.Morgan/Eddie Gale) Of Love & Peace                 1966    Blue Note
  (Herbert Morgan)      Contrasts                       1967    Blue Note
  (H.Morgan/G.Benson)   Heaven on Earth                 1968    Blue Note
  (H.Morgan/L.Morgan)   Mother Ship                     1969    Blue Note
  (P.Sanders/J.Ulmer)   Lawrence of Newark              1973    Perception
                        Fuel                            1975    Arista
                        Spaceball                       1975    Arista

Chambers, Joe
  Duo!                  Double Exposure                 1977    Muse

Davis, Miles
  LY: el. p.            Bitches Brew                    1970    Columbia
  LY: el. p.            The Little Blue Frog (single)   1970    Columbia

Davis, Nathan
  LY: p. (Woody Shaw)   Happy Girl                      1965    MPS

Forrest, Jimmy
  (T. Schwartz)         Forrest Fire                    1960    Prestige

Green, Grant
  (Elvin Jones)         Talkin' About                   1964    Blue Note
  (B.Hutcherson/E.Jones) Street of Dreams               1964    Blue Note
  (H.Mobley/E.Jones)    I Want To Hold Your Hand        1965    Blue Note
                        His Majesty King Funk           

Hendrix, Jimi
  (B.Cox/M.Mitchell)    Nine To The Universe            1969    Reprise (1980)
  (B.Cox/M.Mitchell)    The McLaughlin Sessions         1969    bootleg

Jones, Etta
                        Love Shout                      1963    Prestige

Mahones, Gildo
                        Great Gildo                     1965    Prestige

Mahavishnu Orchestra (John McLaughlin)
  (Jack Bruce)          In Retrospect                   1976    Polydor

McLaughlin, John
  (Buddy Miles)         Devotion                        1970    Douglas/Celluloid

Santana, Carlos & Mahavishnu John McLaughlin
  LY=Khalid Yasin       Love, Devotion, Surrender       1973    Columbia

Shaw, Woody
  (J.Henderson/H.Hancock/P.Chambers/R.Carter/J.Chambers)
  LY: piano             In The Beginning...             1965    Muse

Slim & The Supreme Angels
  (Avondale Choir)      Tribute                         ?       ?

Terry, Buddy
  (Woody Shaw)          Natural Soul                    1967    Prestige

White, Lenny
  (Larry Coryell/Al DiMeola/Weldon Irvine/Hubert Laws/Jimmy Smith?!)
                        Venusian Summer                 1975    Emperor

Williams, Tony - Lifetime
  (John McLaughlin)     Emergency!                      1969    Polydor
  (J.Bruce/McLaughlin)  Turn It Over                    1970    Polydor
  (Ted Dunbar/R.Carter) Ego                             1971    Polydor