Lennie Tristano

• 6-CD Limited Edition Box

Dot Time Records and Mosaic Records, in partnership for the first time, are thrilled to announce the release of Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946 – 1970. This 6-CD set chronicles over twenty years of stunning creative output from jazz luminary Lennie Tristano offering listeners the most comprehensive portrait of Tristano’s musical genius available.

THE LIMITED EDITION BOX SET INCLUDES

• • A six CD set of 74 recordings, the vast majority of which has ever appeared on a record.
• • The deluxe box set includes an exclusive booklet with a loving introduction by Carol Tristano
• • Liner notes and track-by-track appreciation of Tristano’s music by Lenny Popkin
• • Full size booklet with many rare photographs.
• • Trio sessions alongside guitarist Billy Bauer and bassist Arnold Fishkin
• • Live sextet recordings of Tristano alongside Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh
• • A full disc of solo performances where Tristano’s astounding technical facility and deep pathos is on display

The recordings come from a trove of material in Tristano’s personal collection — airchecks, remote wire recordings, live dates preserved by his associates on the bandstand, and tracks laid down at Lennie’s East 32nd Street studio in New York. Not originally intended for commercial release, they provide an intimate look at Tristano’s range and his unmistakable approach to jazz.

As with all Mosaic sets, this release is extremely limited. When they are sold out, this music goes back into the vaults, never to be released in this form again. Please don’t miss out on this opportunity to fall under Tristano’s spell.

• DISC ONE
• Features Tristano alongside Billy Bauer and Arnold Fishkin. These live trio recordings from 1946/1947 were recorded in Long Island, New York and capture the pure synergy, improvisational acuity and playfulness of this tight-knit ensemble. Right away, one notes Tristano’s incredible feel. “As it is expressed by his playing both as a soloist and playing with others, every note he plays has a personality. Every note is imbued with feeling. In the recordings presented in this set, you will hear that no matter what the tempo, the key, whether he is playing quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes – no matter how fast, each note is distinct. Each note has character,” reflects Popkin.

• DISC TWO
• Features marvelous solo piano recordings of Tristano recorded both at Rudy Van Gelder Studio and at Lennie’s own East 32nd Street studio. The 15 tracks on this disc demonstrate Tristano’s inner world of harmony.

• DISC THREE
• Features live sextet recordings of Tristano alongside Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Billy Bauer, bassists Arnold Fishkin and Joe Shulman, and drummer Jeff Morton. This marks the first recorded performance of a group of jazz musicians performing free jazz in front of an audience in a club. Lennie Tristano’s daughter and co-producer of this album, Carol Tristano indicates that “he embodies that link between free playing and swinging jazz.
• The free playing of these four musicians together has, to this day, almost no parallel. It is not random, nor is it instant composing. It is rooted in jazz feeling and being created completely spontaneously in the moment. The result is no experiment! Each piece tells a story and is great music of the highest order. You may find it can remind you of what it’s like to listen to a great composition — but it’s not composed — that’s the magic of it!”

• DISC FOUR
• Features Tristano playing straight-ahead jazz with two fantastic trios both with Peter Ind on bass, one with drummer Tom Wayburn, the other with drummer Al Levitt. “The trio sides with Peter Ind, Tom Weyburn and Al Levitt are among my favorites. Lennie with a rhythm section — wowing you with his lyrical prowess, doing that thing that great musicians can do — compelling your ear into a state of pure pleasure! No matter how many times you hear a great solo, it will affect you the same, if not more, every time,” shared Carol.

• DISC FIVE
• Contains duos and trios with bassist Sonny Dallas and drummer Nick Stabulas. The duo tracks capture the intentful listening of two friends and musicians eager to create beautiful music together, and the trio tracks demonstrate the rare interplay of three musicians who are connected to each other’s every melodic refrain and harmonic exploration. To quote Popkin

• DISC SIX
• Begins with a groundbreaking free jazz session from 1948 featuring Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Billy Bauer. The recording predates Tristano’s historic Capitol sides Intuition and Digression as well as iconic free jazz recordings of the late 50’s/early 60’s by other artists that so often receive the acclaim for Tristano’s early innovation.