Lennie Tristano

Lennie Tristano is a Pianiste and Compositeur of American Jazz born the March 19th 1919 with Chicago and dead the November 18th 1978 with New York.

Biography

Born in 1919 in Chicago, full epidemic of Spanish Influenza, Leonard Joseph Tristano with the seriously affected sight and, at 10 years, are practically blind. It is placed in an specialized establishment. It learns there the Piano, the Saxophone, the Clarinette and the Violoncelle. At 19 years, it continues its studies in “American Conservatory” of Chicago where it obtains “bachelor off music”. Of “traditional” formation, it is fascinated by the music of Jean-Sebastien Bach. It is interested in the jazz. Its models are at the time Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Art Tatum and Lester Young. In 1942, it makes its professional beginnings as pianist in a dance band. In 1943, it starts to teach in “Christensen School off Music”. Among his pupils, one finds the young person Lee Konitz who does not have whereas 16 years. Konitz is its first “disciple” but will be also, undoubtedly, more “independent”. Tristano forms, this same year, its first group, a formation of Dixieland.

Tristano impregnates also rather quickly Bebop and in particular of the music of Charlie Parker. It is by combining its knowledge of the “traditional” music, the traditional jazz and the bebop that Tristano works out the bases of what will be its esthetics. The music of Tristano rests on a great direction of the structure, inherited in particular Bach, a work on the harmony (harmonic substitutions, “voicings”,…) and phrased (of long sinuous sentences played with a minimum of stressing), the use of the polyrythmy and sometimes of the polytonality. This esthetics rather close to that of the Cool jazz but dissociating oneself by many aspects is, for the time, particularly innovating. Some critical however reproach the music of Tristano a certain coldness and a tendency to intellectualism. On the other hand of many musicians adhere to the theories of the pianist and become his pupils. The number of its “disciples” will grow with the passing of years.

In 1945, Tristano pushes for the first time the door of the studios of recording as pianist of the “sextet” of Earl Swope. In 1946, it records four titles in solo. They are compositions based on the grids of Standard of jazz on which Tristano makes the first, and still a little timid, demonstration of its theories. Tristano leaves Chicago for New York. It occurs and records in trio with the guitarist Billy Bauer and the double bass players Chubby Jackson then Léonard Garskin. In connection with one of the title enregisté “out there is limb”, the critic Barry Ulanov, speaks about “ new luminous era in the jazz ” and written “ they was long lines walking on side by side, a continuity studied, a counterpoint improvised with unquestionable passages coming very close to atonality, the whole welded by the swing. Fresh and true demonstration which the jazz can follow a development parallel with that of the classical music without to really being him pledged ”

In 1947, a radio broadcast opposes representatives of the “old jazz” (Jimmy Archey, Danny Barker, Wild Bill Davidson, Pops Foster,…) with representative of the “new jazz” (Tristano, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John LaPorta, Billy Bauer, Ray Brown and max Roach. The seconds leave large “winners there”. This same year, Tristano records rather abundantly under its name (in solo, trio or combo with the clarinettist John LaPorta), but also like sideman of the trombonist Bill Harris. It occurs on several occasions with Parker and Gillespie and others “beboppers”. Tristano is elected “musician of the year” by the readers of the review “Metronome”. Besides the pianist writes for this review two theoretical articles: “ What' S right with the beboppers ” and “ What' S wrong with the beboppers ”. In 1948, being devoted especially to teaching, it is completely absent from studios.

1949, are one year headlight in the life of Tristano, he is then a musician completely recognized by his pars and goes records beaches which are the “impossible to circumvent ones” of the history of the jazz (meetings “Prestige” and “Capitol”).

January 3rd, 1949, it records two titles within an occasional orchestra joining together of the musicians elected by the readers of the review. This “Metronome all stars” joins together the majority the musicians considered as the figures representative of the new jazz: Tristano, Parker, Gillespie, Conceited Navarro, Miles Davis, Jay Jay Johnson, Kai Winding, Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Shafranski, Shelly Basket, Pete Rugolo and more curiously Charlie Ventura and Ernie Caceres. One of the two titles “Victoria Ball” is a composition of the pianist.

It is as in January 1949 as the trumpet player Tony Fruscella desists for a meeting organized by the mark Prestige and advises with the directors of the label to record Tristano. It is thus a combo joining together Tristano, Lee Konitz, Billy Bauer, Arnold Fishkin and Shelly Manne which is found in studio. If the majority of the title come from the feather of Konitz (“Subconsious Lee”, “Tautology”,…), the music is especially representative of the esthetics of Tristano and the recording is a total success.

Always in 1949, between March and May, other capital recordings are carried out, this time Ci for the label Capitol. These beaches, the majority in sextet (Konitz and Warne Marsh being in the saxophone and Bauer with the guitar) are a perfect demonstration on the innovative side but also of the richness of the music of Tristano. At the time of one of these meetings, on May 16th, the musicians record the parts “Intuition” and “Digression” which are the first two completely free attempts at improvisation (atonal and without “initial material set of themes”) of the history of the jazz. Speaking about its titles, Lenny Popkin, saxophonist and raises of Tristano, wrote “ It is harmony free, but it is harmony. It is where I make the distinction between the free of Tristano and what one called later Free jazz, the meeting of musicians who, generally, blew each one on his side. At Lennie, the harmony, the melody and the rate/rhythm have an equal importance, in the same way the communion of spirit between the musicians. They plays the same elements as people who plays of the standards ”

In 1950, Tristano is still voted by plebiscite by the reader of “Metronome”. A meeting of a new “Metronome all star” is organized but the result is rather disappointing. 1950 mark the one period beginning of withdrawal for Tristano during which it gives up the front of the music scene, not giving more but some rare concerts, to devote itself to its teaching. From 1950 to 1955, the traces discographics of Tristano are thus extremely rare. However in 1951, the pianist with open clean sound small studio with Manhattan (“17 East 32nd Street”. In 1953, it is in this studio that Tristano will record in piano solo masterly “the Descent into the maelstrom”, a true surge of Clusters and long atonal lines, genuine UFO compared to the jazz of the time. This title will be published besides only in 1978 (on the album éponyme of the label “Atlantic”).

In 1955, it is still in its studio that it records four particularly interesting titles, which constitutes part of the 33t published by the label Atlantic called “Tristano”. “Line up” and “East thirty second” are two titles where Tristano improvises on accompaniments recorded beforehand by a double bass player and a beater. The magnetic band is slowed down for the recording of the part of piano, then accelerated for final pressing what gives to the melody lines impromptu by the pianist an amazing density. “Turkish mambo” is a curious polyrythmic part recorded in Re-recording where tristano made intersect measurements into 7/8, 7/4, 5/8, 5/4 and 3/4. Lastly, “Requiem” is a part in homage to Charlie Parker made up of a prelude “to the Schumann” followed by a particularly poignant Blues purified… what to make conceal criticisms on the “coldness” of the music of Tristano. The Atlantic album is supplemented by recorded parts year four-bit byte, with Konitz with the Alto saxophone, at the time of a gig at the “Confucius Restaurant” of New York., on June 11th, 1955. In 1955-1956, Tristano also records in its studio of Manhattan of the parts in trio, 9 of them will be in 1983 pennies the title “New York improvisations” by the label “Elektra-Musician”

Once again Tristano is put in withdrawal before music scene, occurring only sporadically. 1962 should be waited until to hear the album “The new Tristano” (Atlantic) which joins together parts recorded by the pianist, in his own studio, in solo between 1958 and 1962. One can hear there enthralling “C minor complex”, “G minor complex” and “Scene and variation”. This remarkable album, true concentrate of the theories of Tristano, is its last major disc.

The pianist will evaporate studios starting from this date of recording, devoting himself especially to teaching, but continuing to occur in public. Tristano lucidly explains, during an interview, its absence of the studios: “ a disc of me, today, would be a large fiasco from the commercial point of view, since I do not have the intention of me prostituer ”. Enough criticizes with respect to the evolution of the jazz in the Sixties, he repeats that its own modernity comes from the knowledge and the deepening of the “tradition of the jazz”: “ the music of formerly and that which I play today is anything else only the result of experiments acquired by means of the study and the knowledge of the music of the jazzmen which had preceded me. It was and it is my manner of feeling the things ”. Starting from the middle of the Sixties, Tristano seems increasingly bitter. If it does not hide its interest for the Rock or the pop besides (it makes, in 1969, the praise of the singer Diana Ross in a number of the review “happy Down”), its remarks are often very sour when it speaks about these fellow-members jazzmen who at the time make the topicality (in connection with John Coltrane, Sony Rollins and Miles Davis: “ that emotion, no feeling ”; in connection with a concert of Ornette Coleman: “ completely idiotic ”). It is a passably turned sour man who, in 1974, disappears definitively from the scene of the jazz to be locked up in the loneliness of a species of “ivory tower”. It drives on November 18th, 1978.

Tristano is a particular figure in the history of the jazz, at the same time very important and marginal. Its theories inspired multitudes of musicians, not only its pupils. Even if it did not have really “direct heirs” (with share perhaps, one of its faithful pupils, the pianist Connie Crothers, it many jazzmen influenced. For example, Bill Evans with esthetics however at the very least distant from that of Tristano always asserted this last like one of its influences. Proof if it is that its influence is always alive, recently two French pianists (Stéphan Oliva and François Raulin) recorded two remarkable albums in homage to the music of Tristano.

It is especially among its pupils whom one finds most concrete the trace of the originality of what one sometimes called “the Tristano school”. Among the musicians having studied with the pianist one can quote, in addition to most faithful Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh and Billy Bauer, jazzmen like Herbie Mann, Bill Russo, John LaPorta, Cy Touff, Sal Mosca, Don Ferrara, Ted Brown, Lenny Popkin, Ronnie Ball, Sheila Jordan, Jeff Morton, more punctually Harold Danko, Dave Liebman, Phil Woods, Al Levitt, Eddie Gomez and even the veteran Bud Freeman. For the anecdote the guitarist of rock'n'roll Joe Satriani briefly studied with Tristano and Charlie Mingus, even if this last were always defended some, also seems to have followed the teaching of the pianist to him.

Compositions of Lennie Tristano (nonexhaustive list)

Tristano often composed starting from the harmonic grids of standard of the jazz. The titles given between brackets are those of the standards in question. It will be noticed that Tristano uses sometimes several times the same standards (e.g. “Penies from heaven”, “Indiana”, “I' L remember april”,…).

317 East 32 Nd (Out off nowhere)
Abstraction
Name
April (I' L remeber april)
Back home (Indiana)
Becoming (What is this thing called coils)
Blame me (Gift' T blames me)
C minor complex (Pennies from heaven)
Confucius blues (blues)
Cool boogy (Out off nowhere)
Continuity (I' L remember april)
Coolin' off (Sweet Georgia Brown)
Deliberation (Indiana)
East thirty second (Pennies from heaven )
Foolin' myself
Freedom (blues)
G minor complex (You' D Be so Nice to as home to)
Ghost (Ghost off has chance)
Glad I amndt (Yesterday)
I found my baby (I found has new baby)
Image Paris (Imagination + I edge' T give you anything goal coils)
Juju (Indiana)
Just Judy (Just you, just me)
Lennie-Bird (How high the moon)
Lennie' S pennies (Pennies from heaven)
Line up (All off me)
Love lines
My baby (My melancoly baby)
One has planet off (Gift' T blames me)
Out has limb (pink Honeysuckle)
Palimpset
Parallel (Tea for two)
Passtime (You go to my head)
Pennies in minor (Pennies from heaven “as a minor”)
Progession (Lullaby off Birdland)
Requiem (prelude “to Schumann” then blues)
Retrospection (Thesis foolish things)
Scene and variation (My melancoly baby)
Supersonic (What is this thing called coils)
Spontaneous combustion (Thesis foolish things)
This is called coils (What is this thing cal coils)
Wow (You edge depends me off)

Orientations discographics

The following listing does not announce that Cd are currently in the trade. For a discography supplements to see of second “external bond”.

Trio, four-bit byte, quintet & sextet: 1946-1949 . Giants off jazz
Live At Birdland: 1949 . Orchard
Intuition . Blue Notes
Wow: 1950 . Orchard
Live At Toronto: 1952 . Orchard
Descent into the maelstrom . Atlantic
Tristano . Atlantic
New York improvisations . Elektra-Musician
Continuity . Orchard
The New Tristano . Atlantic

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