David Young

David Young (b. Indianapolis, 1933 – d. February 6, 2009) – Tenor Saxophonist. David Young studied music at Kentucky State College, Butler and Indiana University and played in the Third Armored Division Band. Like drummer Killer Ray Appleton, Young played in the David Baker Quartet, which had a regular gig at the Topper on 34th Street. Along with Baker, Young left Indiana in the late 1950s to become a founding member of the George Russell Sextet. With the sextet, Young recorded Jazz in the Space Age, The George Russell Sextet at the Five Spot, Statuspunk, and “The George Russell Sextet in Kansas City.” He also toured and recorded with Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, Jack McDuff, and the Grover Mitchell Jazz Orchestra. In addition, he has also shared the stage with Mercer Ellington (while touring with the Duke Ellington Orchestra), Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett, Della Reece, and Cab Calloway. In his final years, he played locally with both younger players and older musicians from his own generation. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was a member of Small Talk, which also included well-known Indy artists Clifford Ratliff (trumpet) and Gary Walters (piano).