Lennie Tristano

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Leonard Joseph Tristano (1919 - 1978) was a jazz pianist and composer. Tristano was blind from infancy and studied piano and music theory from pre-teen years. He is sometimes regarded as an unduly overlooked figure in jazz history.

His interest in jazz inspired a move to New York City in 1946. Tristano’s advanced grasp of harmony fit with the prevailing bebop movement, and he earned a reputation as a gifted pianist, performing and recording with bebop’s preeminent figures, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Tristano formed a sextet, featuring saxophone players Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, that recorded a number of acclaimed compositions, including 1949’s “Intuition” and “Digression.” Both songs were completely improvised, with no prearranged melody, harmony or rhythm. These two songs are sometimes cited among the first examples of free jazz and earliest free improvisations. Tristano’s compositions – sometimes classified as cool jazz – are noted for their sometimes unusual structure, including use of counterpoint, a feature still rare among jazz performances.

Lennie Tristano released two important albums on Atlantic Records. “Lennie Tristano”, from 1955, included a tribute to Charlie Parker after his death: “Requiem”. “The New Tristano”, from 1962, is regarded as one of the more important solo piano recordings in jazz. Some of his live performances were recorded and have been released. Among these are live performances from the Half Note Club in New York from the 1950’s, and concerts in Europe from the 1960’s.
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  • oldmancallaghan

    awesome,,,,,,,,,,!

    20 days ago
  • DonutDuDe1212

    This guy is pretty damn boss.

    26 days ago
  • sna033

    when did Lennie play any bebop stuff? please don't tag artists you don't know

    March 2012
  • zezinho57

    Have to admit, I only heard of him today (thx to John F. Szwed in his book Jazz 101. "A name not known by most jazz fans (.....) but giants like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis had great respect for his work" That made me curious ... (of course !). And have to say after only a few songs i knew, i´ve to add this guy to my library .... Great stuff and interesting place in history !

    October 2011
  • JBarracudaL

    Such an under-appreciated contributor to Jazz and, subsequently, music as it's been shaped.

    September 2011
  • h4h4

    nice

    July 2011
  • mattcunn

    he wus blind but cud c into our hearts

    April 2011
  • LanFill

    intriguing music

    December 2010
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