Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz: Proto-Cool (1946 - 1955)

Pianist Lennie Tristano was a very visible participant in the modern jazz innovations of the mid-1940s through the early 1950s, winning polls and participating in all-star jam sessions. Yet his music was always a little outside the mainstream and was increasingly so as he began to experiment with fully improvised performances by 1947. While his focus on low dynamics and long flowing lines has been seen as a precursor of the cool school that arose early in the 1950s, the better argument may be made that Tristano created an intellectual setting for the free jazz to come.

Playlist

• Host Intro 0:00
• Lennie Tristano Trio. "I Can't Get Started" from Smithsonian Collection of Jazz Piano (Smithsonian) 3:15
• Host speaks 6:10
• Lennie Tristano Trio. "Atonement" from Intuition (Proper) 7:50
• Host speaks 10:17
• Lennie Tristano Sextet. "Wow" from Intuition (Proper) 11:40
• Host speaks 15:00
• Lennie Tristano Sextet. "Subconscious Lee" from Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 16:17
• Lennie Tristano Sextet. "Crosscurrents" from Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz (Smithsonian) 19:02
• Host speaks 21:52
• Lennie Tristano Quintet. "Intuition" from Intuition (Proper) 23:47
• Lennie Tristano Quintet. "Digression" from Intuition (Proper) 26:13
• Host speaks 29:13
• Lennie Tristano Trio. "Line Up" from Lennie Tristano (Atlantic) 30:00
• Lennie Tristano Trio. "Turkish Mambo" from Lennie Tristano (Atlantic) 33:33
• Host speaks 37:01
• Lee Konitz Quintet. "Tautology" from Subconscious-Lee (Prestige) 39:22
• Lee Konitz Quintet. "Fishin' Around" from Subconscious-Lee (Prestige) 42:16
• Host speaks 46:00
• Lee Konitz Quintet. "Progression" from Subconscious-Lee (Prestige) 46:47
• Lee Konitz Quintet. "Judy" from Subconscious-Lee (Prestige) 49:45
• Host speaks 52:36
• Lee Konitz -Billy Bauer Duo. "Rebecca" from Subconscious-Lee (Prestige) 52:54
• Host Outro 55:56