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Billy Lester
Pianist Billy Lester is a late-bloomer on that reticent branch of the jazz tree, the school of Lennie Tristano.
An instinctively lyrical yet unfettered improviser who creates original compositions from variations on classic American songs' chord changes, Lester -- like his mentor Sal Mosca, one of Tristano's most acclaimed students -- has developed his art almost in private. A youthful prodigy who was playing by age four, the soft-spoken, self-questioning Lester has taught piano for decades in his hometown of Yonkers just beyond New York City's limits, and devotes himself to family life. But with children now grown, at age 52 he's felt the yen to gig, and finds the public stage surprisingly rewarding.
High Standards
By Billy Lester
Label: Ultra Sound Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: There Will Never Be Another You; Somebody Loves Me; What Is This Thing Called Love?; I’ll
Remember April; You Go to My Head; Just Friends; Out of Nowhere; Lover, Come Back to Me;
Free Improvisation.
Nicole Glover, Daniel Bulatkin, Gilad Atzmon, Jane Ira Bloom & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
Enjoy another playlist of brilliant new releases the algorithms haven't caught up with yet.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Gary Brunton “Snecklifter" Spacecraft (Juste Une Trace) 0:16 Host talks 4:45 Emma Rawicz “Anima Rising" Inkyra (ACT) 6:36 Kai Craig “Lunations" A Time Once Forgotten ...
Billy Lester: High Standards
by Richard J Salvucci
This is a very difficult recording to evaluate. If Billy Lester is living in Italy, the Italians are lucky. Someone has to be beyond sophisticated to pull off what Lester has done. He has, in essence, taken the GAS (Great American Songbook) and, with perhaps one exception, has improvised to the chord changes over the tunes. ...
The Carole Nelson Trio, Heather Ward, Hi Res Heart, Dom Salvador
by Cheryl K.
During this week's two-hour program of jazz and improvised music, you'll hear from The Carole Nelson Trio; pianists Frank Carlberg and Dom Salvador; vocalists Heather Ward, Marisa Balistreri, and Michael Mayo; High Res Heart; and saxophonists Collin Sherman and Miguel Zenon. Playlist George Russell & The Living Time Orchestra “Event I: Organic Life on ...
The Billy Lester Trio: High Standards
by Pierre Giroux
With The Billy Lester Trio pianist Billy Lester offers a thrilling new chapter in his decades-long exploration of melodic abstraction and rhythmic vitality. Joined by bassist Marcello Testa and drummer Nicola Stranieri, Lester delivers a set that is as spontaneous, virtuosic, and inventive as any in his discography. For those unfamiliar with his music, this album ...
New Music From Bailis, Petrillo, Ortiz & More
by Bob Osborne
A selection of brand new releases from around the world together with four more great examples from the recent re-issue of the Strata-East catalogue provides for a fascinating two hours of music. Playlist David Bailis “Ordinary Trash" from Running Through My Mind (Create or Destroy) 00:00 Pat Petrillo “Late Night Diner" from Contemporaneous ...
Terry Callier, Tobias Meinhart, and The Thing
by Jerome Wilson
This episode features jazz hybrids by Terry Callier, Tone Forest, and The Thing as well as purer genre sounds from the likes of Melissa Aldana, Tobias Meinhart, and Mose Allison. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) ...
Billy Lester Trio: High Standards
by Jack Bowers
Pianist Billy Lester's album High Standards, recorded in 2017 in Italy, encompasses Lester's singular versions of eight memorable standards from the Great American Songbook. Although Lester plays sublimely, and his Italian rhythm section is first-class, the lingering impression is that something is missing. Yes, something is clearly missing...but what could it be? Lester's ...
Billy Lester: Unabridged
by Howard Mandel
Pianist Billy Lester is a musical original. That's obvious from the first, oh, 17 seconds of Unabridged, his sixth album and second all-solo recording. Listen to the unusual, brief motif with which Lester opens “Overture: Passionate Musings," then develops, complicates and completes it faster than you'd tie a shoelace. Pause--and he continues. Not to ...
