Search - Lennie Tristano :: Lennie Tristano / New Tristano

A very important jazz record from an underestimated genius

Jostein Berntsen | Porsgrunn, Norway | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lennie Tristano was a piano genius and also a master of arranging and making new and inspirational jazz music. The best example is here in this double package of his 2 most well-known jazz records: Lennie Tristano from 1955 and The New Tristano from 1962. The first contains the 4 masteful compositions Line Up, Requiem, Turkish Mambo and East Thirty-Second Street which is brilliant in its use of time changes, melody lines and atmosphere. Requiem is a great tribute to Charlie Parker who died the same year as this record was made. The rest of the record is 5 live recordings with Lee Konitz on tenor sax. Ghost of a chance is a very fine version. Lennie was a fan of the long, emotional improvisational line on the piano, and this is most evident in the solo record The New Tristano. This is a great piano classic with Lennie mixing in classical inspirations as well as bop, stride and whatever path his feelings lead him to in the creation of the music. My favourites here are Becoming, Love Lines and G Minor Complex. Absolutely essential jazz. Another record which is recommended is the hard-to-get Descent In the Maelstrom with the incredible title track."

Tristano was a jazz genius

John T. O'Connor | Ohio | 02/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mixed in with many of the more well known jazz musicians were some wonderful musicians that other musicians knew and loved, but the general public knew little about. Unfortunately, Tristano was one of these. A brilliant composer and pianst, his body of music is often hard for the average listener to access, since it didn't always follow along "traditional" lines. I always thought of Tristano as the technically magnificent Monk, but that sells both musicians short. Tristano was his own man, and the music that poured out from him was challenging, but always brilliant. It is a crime against nature and Tristano that the recording company left "C Minor Complex" off of this CD, though. Obviously, whoever made this CD knew very little about the music."