LENNIE TRISTANO - Trio, Quartet, Quintet & Sextet : 1946-1949 (1996) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless

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. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :
1     Intuition 2:27
Lennie Tristano
2     Digression 3:04
Lennie Tristano
3     Marionette 3:06
Billy Bauer
4     Yesterday 2:47
Lennie Tristano
5     Crosscurrent 2:50
Lennie Tristano
6     Interlude 3:06
Dizzy Gillespie / Frank Paparelli
7     Freedom 3:36
Lennie Tristano
8     Atonement 2:28
Lennie Tristano
9     Coolin' off with Ulanov 2:49
Lennie Tristano
10     I Can't Get Started 2:56
Vernon Duke / Ira Gershwin
11     Out on a Limb 2:40
Lennie Tristano
12     I Surrender, Dear 3:06
Harry Barris / Gordon Clifford
13     Progression 2:44
Lee Konitz
14     Retrospection 3:08
Lennie Tristano
15     Subconscious-Lee 2:48
Lee Konitz
16     Judy 2:53
Lennie Tristano
17     Parallel 2:28
Lennie Tristano
18     Abstraction 2:38
Lennie Tristano
19     Dissonance 2:38
Lennie Tristano
20     New Sound 2:16
Lennie Tristano
21     You Go to My Head 4:31
J. Fred Coots / Haven Gillespie
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 13 to 16, 21)
Bass – Arnold Fishkin (tracks: 1 to 5, 7, 13 to 20), Bob Leininger (tracks: 8, 9), Clyde Lombardi (tracks: 6, 10 to 12), Joe Shulman (tracks: 21)
Clarinet – John LaPorta (tracks: 20)
Drums – Denzil Best (tracks: 1 to 3), Harold Granowsky (tracks: 4, 5), Jeff Morton (tracks: 21), Shelly Manne (tracks: 13, 15)
Guitar – Billy Bauer
Piano – Lennie Tristano
Tenor Saxophone – Warne Marsh (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 21)