Yesterday, I mentioned that Brad Mehldau's flame-throwing version of John Coltrane's "Countdown" was an appropriate tribute for the song's writer. This put me in mind of another tribute to a very different, but equally important sax player. "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" was written by the jazz bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus, according to legend, on the very night that Lester Young died. Young, one of the most influential musicians in jazz history, was known for his thoughtful, melodic style. Someone once said of him, "If you don't play like Lester, you're wrong." I've always taken this as a reference to the fact that his measured, melodic style was actually improvised (he once said that he tried to not be a "repeater pencil") because a lot of jazz isn't. In fact, it relies on thoroughly memorized lines or licks known as vocabulary, which can be played over standard chord patterns that make up most of the repertoire. Memorized vocabulary is as crucial to jazz playing as verbal vocabulary is to conversation, and acquiring it to the point where it can be summoned at a moment's notice (to quote another Coltrane title) is an undertaking that requires many years of work. But any type of vocabulary, in language or music, can become repetitive or boring with overuse. Lester Young didn't like to be boring in either of these ways, and his playing is known for its constant inventiveness, as was his language: He was the originator of what was then called hipster style, and he's credited with adding many words and expressions to the language. "Cool" is one of them. Tomorrow, I'll discuss Mingus' tribute. For today, I'm going to suggest you type Lester Young Billie Holiday Fine and Mellow into YouTube, and watch the great singer transfixed by her longtime collaborator's solo - he's second. Some writers have called it the greatest chorus of blues in jazz history. It was the last time the two played together. (You can read more on this 1957 TV special - it was called The Sound of Jazz - at Wikipedia.)