One of the most overlooked giants of modern jazz, pianist Lennie Tristano (1919-1978) is largely forgotten these days, but he was one of the founding fathers of bebop, creating a unique sound and style, influencing everyone from Charlie Parker to students Dave Liebman and even rocker Joe Satriani.
This historic album features Tristano in three different settings, all in duet partnerships. The 1967/68 session with drummer Roger Mancuso has him reshaping bop standards like “Falling In Love With Love”, “Indiana”, “That Old Feeling” and “Out Of Nowhere” into completely revamped idea in “Imagery,” “Home Again” “That Feeling” and “Session” respectively. His ectomorphic musings are simply sensational and intellectually stimulating.
From 1970, alto saxist Lenny Poplin sits in with Tristano for six tunes, with swirling icy bop on “Out of A Dream”, a set of chords as thick as a rope on “Ensemble” and lively and peppy pieces such as the swirling “Out Of A Dream” and the ectomorphic “Chez Lennie”. In 1976, Tristano met with fellow pianist Connie Brothers for a pair of “Concertos” with the first being a heavy hitting stomp and stride akin to a Neopolitan traffic jam and the second a series of dark lines with a number 1 pencil, weaving and swirling.
This album has music that is both accessible for its vintage and classic jazz tones, but also simultaneously completely personal and sui generis, with gray matter oozing out of every choral progression. Check this guy out and broaden your horizons.