Lennie Tristano - Trio, Quartet, Quintet & Sextet: 1946-1949

Tracklist

01 - Intuition
02 - Digression
03 - Marionette
04 - Yesterday
05 - Crosscurrent
06 - Interlude
07 - Freedom
08 - Atonement
09 - Coolin' off with Ulanov
10 - I Can't Get Started with You
11 - Out on a Limb
12 - I Surrender Dear
13 - Progression
14 - Retrospection
15 - Subcoscious-Lee
16 - Judy
17 - Parallel
18 - Abstraction
19 - Dissonance
20 - New Sound
21 - You Go to My Head


Giants of Jazz presents an exciting tour of Lennie Tristano's three-, four-, five- and six-piece ensemble recordings dating from the mid- to late 1940s. True to the unspoken policy of this label, the material is chronologically scrambled in an apparent attempt to avoid replicating other, tidier Tristano reissues. Six titles were harvested from Tristano's two groundbreaking Keynote sessions of 1946 and 1947; these were trio affairs involving guitarist Billy Bauer and bassists Bob Leininger or Clyde Lombardi. A lesser-known trio session from December 1947 resulted in "Parallel," "Abstraction" "Freedom" and "Dissonance," which were originally released on the Baronet record label. Regarding the quartets: saxophonist John LaPorta recorded "New Sound" with Tristano, Bauer and bassist Arnold Fishkin on the last day of 1947 (this was also issued on Baronet) and the rhythm section from this date reconvened in March 1949 with drummer Harold Granowsky to record "Yesterdays," which was issued by Capitol. A superb session for Prestige New Jazz took place on November 11, 1949, with Tristano, Bauer and Fishkin forming a marvelous quintet with saxophonist Lee Konitz and drummer Shelly Manne. The titles from this date are "Progression," "Retrospection," "Subconscious-Lee" and "Judy." As for the sextets: three choice cuts from a May 1949 Capitol session ("Intuition," "Digression" and Bauer's "Marionette") find the pianist surrounded by saxophonists Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz, Bauer, Fishkin and drummer Denzil Best. This dazzling package closes with a live rendition of "You Go to My Head" culled from a Voice of America radio broadcast from Carnegie Hall on December 24, 1949, with Konitz, Marsh, Bauer, bassist Joe Shulman and drummer Jeff Morton. Altogether an excellent sampler of early modern jazz that is creative, inspired, accessible and very enjoyable.