3 Videos: Lennie Tristano

Lennie Tristano's piano had a different sound. When improvising, his left hand typically kept meticulous time with a walking bass line while his right wandered with purpose. Together, they sounded like two people on the same flight of stairs, one plodding up returning home while the other impishly skipping down briskly to get outside.

Here are three videos of the blind pianist and cool-jazz innovator during his European tour in 1965:

Here's Tristano in Berlin (at 18:17), on a spectacular bill that included Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Bill Evans, John Lewis and Jaki Byard...



Here's Tristano in Copenhagen...



And here's Tristano in Paris...