Lennie Tristano - The New Tristano (1977 Japanese Atlantic Stereo LP)

Vinyl: EX
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

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Lennie Tristano - The New Tristano | Vinyl LP - 1977 Japanese Atlantic Stereo Reissue (P-7531A, Jazz-Forever Excellent 2, Warner-Pioneer Corporation)

Tristano was born in Chicago in 1919 to Italian immigrant parents. He lost his sight entirely by age nine. He studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, moved to New York in 1946 and within three years had attracted a circle of musicians including Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh who studied with him and performed in his groups. In 1949 he recorded "Intuition" and "Digression" for Capitol - two pieces of collective improvisation without written themes, generally acknowledged as the first recordings of free jazz, six years before Ornette Coleman or Cecil Taylor.

By 1961, when he recorded this album, he had largely withdrawn from public performance. His 1956 Atlantic debut had attracted controversy: four of its tracks used overdubbing and tape speed manipulation, anticipating techniques that would not become common in jazz recording for another decade. For this follow-up, Tristano or Atlantic (or both) addressed that controversy on the cover itself.

The music operates at a level of rhythmic and harmonic complexity that can make it difficult to hear the underlying standards. "Becoming" is built on the chord changes of Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" but the melody is entirely Tristano's, the rhythm irregular and shifting. "C Minor Complex" and "G Minor Complex" work through their respective tonalities with the kind of relentless attention to harmonic detail that made Tristano's teaching as influential as his playing. "Scene and Variations" uses "My Melancholy Baby" as its framework, three movements named for the people closest to Tristano: his daughter Carol, his wife Tania and Bud Powell.

This is the 1977 Japanese Atlantic stereo reissue (P-7531A), Jazz-Forever Excellent 2 series, manufactured by Warner-Pioneer Corporation.