Mick Hartley

Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins starring here in this 1958 session from Art Ford's Jazz Party:

Less vibes would have been nice, but maybe that's just me.

Personnel: Charlie Shavers, trumpet; J C Higginbotham, trombone; Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, tenor sax; Pee Wee Russell, clarinet; Harry Sheppard, vibraphone; Willie "The Lion" Smith, piano; Dickie Thompson, guitar; Vinnie Burke, acoustic double bass; Sonny Greer, drums.

Originally a Lester young composition recorded in the mid-1940s. Written about jazz disc jockey Sid Torin (originally Sidney Tarnopol), who was credited with bringing bebop to a mass audience.

Sidney Tarnopol was born in New York City into a Jewish family. According to the 1920 U.S. Census, his parents were Isidore (a printer) and Caroline, both Yiddish-speaking immigrants…

The story of how he got the nickname "Symphony" Sid has been told in numerous ways. According to one source, it came from working at the Symphony record store where he introduced R&B records. The predominantly black customers told their friends that they bought the records from Symphony Sid. But another source says it came from a sponsor—a men's clothing store, and when announcer Walter Tolmes opened Sid's show, he rhymed "Here comes the kid with the fancy pants and the fancy lid… Symphony Sid." And yet another source says he got the name from playing "good music" (classical recordings) at his first radio job, before he became known for jazz. This source says the name came from his playing symphonic music every day. But however he got the nickname, he also did what was very common back then—he shortened his ethnic-sounding last name (Tarnopol) to one that was more generic—Torin. […]

Although Sid was white, he was famous for his hipster lingo, his love of bebop, and his knowledge of the black music scene. While modern critics later accused white jazz disc jockeys like Symphony Sid and Alan Freed of profiting from black radio and taking jobs away from black announcers, this did not seem to be a concern during the years when Sid broadcast. He won several awards from black organizations, including an award for Disc Jockey of the Year presented to him in 1949 by the Global News Syndicate, for his "continuous promotion of negro artists". Among the entertainers he had helped were such jazz performers as Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, and Billy Eckstine. As his popularity grew, songs were written about him. For example, there was a reference to "the dial is all set right close to eighty" in the song "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid", which was written by Lester Young with lyrics by King Pleasure; the song mentioned the location on the radio dial where Symphony Sid's Friday night show could be found.

For the lyrics, here's King Pleasure in 1952 .