To say that Lennie Tristano was a uniquely talented musician is to some, stating the obvious. but perhaps it isn’t. his isn’t exactly a household name, even among musicians. and many who do know of him are only familiar with his extra-musical reputation as an enigmatic and reclusive person. his influence on a wide range of musicians, even if unacknowledged, is quite strong. not only was he an educator with an ever-growing following of talented musicians, most notably, Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, he ran his own record label (he was one of the first musicians to do so) and was a pioneer in the application of tape splicing, multi-tracking and other editing techniques (gasp!). he was also a forward thinking conceptualist, no doubt planting a few of the seeds that gave birth to the free jazz phenomenon, and of course he was flat out an amazing improviser as evinced by the transcription below.
“Line Up” is 32 bar progression based on the chord progression to “All Of Me”. the song is off of a recording called LENNIE TRISTANO which is part of a twofer CD with THE NEW TRISTANO. “Line Up” is comprised of 7 choruses of some really personal and inventive melodic lines. Tristano doesn’t play an opening melody; after resting for 8 bars, letting the rhythm section do its thing (the rhythm track was pre-recorded; rumor has it that Tristano’s lines were recorded at half speed. the piano sound has been altered, nevertheless…) he dives headlong into his improvisation. what strikes me most strongly about this solo, aside from his extraordinary technique and clean articulation, is his wide of use rhythmically displaced phrases. for example, in the 9th and 10th bars of his solo, he plays a simple melodic figure. he then repeats the figure, up a diatonic 4th, but instead of starting it on the 1st beat of the 11th measure as one would expect, he begins it on the 4th beat of the 10th measure. this device creates in the listener a curious, off-balance feeling. he’ll also accent his line on the downbeats from time to time, like he’s tamping the brakes on a car; it works to dissipate some of the forward energy of his line that at times, threatens to spin out of control. Tristano is always, however, able to resolve the rhythmic aspect of his line in sophisticated and unusual ways. nowadays, these improvisational devices are more or less meat and potatoes but back in 1955, it was quite innovative and unusual. throughout his solo, he plays with a really propulsive, aggressive swing and his line is shaped rhythmically by using a wide variety of syncopated accents. he sounds as if he’s working at a piece of hot metal with a mallet, hammering his line into shape. he also uses a device of playing a melodic shape a half step above the underlying harmony and then shifting it back into key. for the most part Tristano’s solo is built around 8th note runs but every so often, he’ll turn on a really crispy triplet figure or jab you in the ear with a fat chord cluster.
As i listen again to “Line Up”, i think immediately of Herbie Hancock and the way he played with Miles Davis’ band on recordings like “Nefertiti”, “Miles Smiles” and “Live At The Plugged Nickel”. his solo passages are only sparsely accompanied by his left hand. in many instances, he functions rather like a 3rd horn than as a rhythm section player. it’s a great way to keep the harmonic moorings loose and it gives the music a colder, leaner sound. my guess is that Hancock spent some time checking out Tristano.
There are many who say Tristano was too clinical and unemotional in his playing. i can’t agree with that opinion. i can only say that, when listening to LENNIE TRISTANO, THE NEW TRISTANO, and particularly when seeing his DVD, THE COPENHAGEN CONCERT, an image comes to me of a man who was intensely involved with his music, no doubt to the detriment of his commercial success, who was unconcerned with the mannerisms and poses that many musicians assume, perhaps because they think they have to. as a listener, Tristano’s music demands that you bring something to the table, that you meet him (at least) half way. his music seems to exist in a more rarefied element, outside of the main currents of life. he could arguably be perceived as having a more European (western) attitude vis-a-vis art (although he professed his admiration for Bird and his peers, and had a deep understanding of the history of jazz, as his playing demonstrates); a very different stance from a musician like Max Roach, for example, (a frequent collaborator with Booker Little who, was featured on the previous post) who often used his music as a vehicle to address socio-political concerns. his music, in my opinion seeks to inspire the listener to become more deeply involved in the world. where Tristano’s music is self-effacing, Roach’s is extroverted. he, i think, saw himself and his music as a part of, existing on the same level as, the community at large- a more African conception. in that sense, though his music is as forward looking and modern as Tristano’s, it is more accessible because its energy works to draw the listener in. i can see value in both positions.
I don’t profess to speak for any musician other than myself so please take any of my comments about musicians’ attitudes and philosophies with a grain of salt…
When taken in the context of the nascent civil rights movement in 50′s and 60′s America, a HUGE discussion could jump off from here involving the differing conceptions of what the role of an artist is, or if there even should be a role; whether or not an artist has any obligations outside of his art. is jazz inherently political? does race have an effect on how music was (is) perceived and marketed? is jazz largely seen as no longer relevant because it has become, over the years, too “arty”, too aloof? i won’t go there (unless you want me to…let me know, because i kind of want to) because as i said previously, the purpose of this blog is to discuss (the technical and artistic aspects of) music. however, given the failure to seriously address the complex history of the U.S., discussions of its arts will contain any number of elephants, calmly sitting at the back of the room, wondering why they aren’t being acknowledged. Ethan Iverson, in his blog, DO THE MATH, writes eloquently about these and other underdiscussed issues…
I’m sorry to say that i don’t know a whole lot about Lennie Tristano but i plan to learn more. i’m going to start with a book that was recommended to me called JAZZ VISIONS: LENNIE TRISTANO AND HIS LEGACY, by Peter Ind. in the future, i plan to post some more examples of Tristano’s highly individual playing…
LENNIE TRISTANO- “LINE UP” (mp3)
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I bought a copy of Mark Turner’s eponymous CD a few months back and before long, i had his version of “317 East 32nd Street” on repeat. as a saxophonist i, am always amazed by the facility of Turner (and Joshua Redman, who also plays on this tune). there is a passage from the 20th measure of the song that moves into the altissimo register of the tenor sax and is really difficult to make sing. Turner pulls it off like he’s playing in the comfortable middle register. although they are not the first to play with fluidity in the extreme registers, guys like Turner and Redman, Joe Lovano and others have set new technical standards for contemporary saxophonists. those high G’s and A’s are no longer only used as “devices”. by that i mean they are no longer just the domain of honkers and screechers (not a diss). what i’m trying to say is that these notes are more often being seemlessly incorporated into the melodic line as opposed to serving only as emotional exclamation points. Turner is a pretty scary saxophonist, a very unique voice among the younger generation of musicians. i first heard his work on YAM YAM, a CD he released several years back. i’m glad to hear that he’s recovering from his recent injury and is back playing.