Lennie Tristano (album)
Encyclopedia
Lennie Tristano, also known as Tristano, is a 1956 album by bebop
jazz
pianist
Lennie Tristano
. At its release, the album was controversial for its innovative use of technology, with Tristano overdubbing
piano and manipulating tape speed for effect on the first four tracks. The final five songs are live recordings. Originally released as Tristano's Atlantic Records
debut, the album was released on CD in 1994 by Rhino Records in combined form with Tristano's 1960 follow-up, The New Tristano, and as part of a collection, The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh, in 1997. It was subsequently re-issued in original form and track-list order by Warner Jazz (2002), Rhino (2003) and Collectables
(2004).
In 1997, The New York Times
dubbed the album a masterpiece. AMG describes the album as "gorgeous...with a beautiful juxtaposition between the first half and the second half between the rhythmic and intervallic genius of Tristano as an improviser and as a supreme lyrical and swinging harmonist on the back half".
in The Masters of Be-Bop, the overdubbing and tape speed manipulation on this album unleashed a furor. Tristano had begun experimenting in 1951, when he had additional piano tracks, some of which had been speeded by engineer
Rudy van Gelder, added to his recording of the songs "Ju Ju" and "Pastime". Tristano later recalled that not a single reviewer questioned the multitracking of those songs. According to Tristano, questions began to arise six months to a year later. At the time, Tristano declined to discuss it. In an interview years later, he described a private incident where Leonard Bernstein
and Willie Kapell debated the topic in his home. After Bernstein declared his certainty that the songs were multitracked, Kapell demonstrated that the speed was possible by playing a Mozart tune 16 times faster than it would generally be played.
Following the release of Lennie Tristano, the usage of multitracking and tape speed was widely questioned and criticized on the songs "Line Up", "Turkish Mambo" and "East Thirty-Second". In the case of "Turkish Mambo", Tristano played three separate and conflicting piano tracks, with left-hand rhythms of five, six and seven beats beneath right-hand improvisation. Tristano made specific reference to that song in defending his choice, stating that "[i]f I do multiple tapes, I don't feel I'm a phony thereby. Take "The Turkish Mambo". There is no other way I could do it so that I could get the rhythms to go together the way I feel them."
On the question of tape speed, he added, "If people want to think I speeded up the piano on "Line Up" and "East Thirty-Second", I don't care. What I care about is that the result sounded good to me." Contributing bassist
Peter Ind
, inspired to later use the same technique on his own album Looking Out, argued on the contrary to those who feel this is a deceptive technique that it is simply another tool an artist may use to craft his work.
Through controversial immediately on release, Tristano's decision to use the technique was described in 1997 by The New York Times as "celebrated".
, unless otherwise noted.
1-4
5-9
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Lennie Tristano
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
. At its release, the album was controversial for its innovative use of technology, with Tristano overdubbing
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
piano and manipulating tape speed for effect on the first four tracks. The final five songs are live recordings. Originally released as Tristano's Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
debut, the album was released on CD in 1994 by Rhino Records in combined form with Tristano's 1960 follow-up, The New Tristano, and as part of a collection, The Complete Atlantic Recordings of Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh, in 1997. It was subsequently re-issued in original form and track-list order by Warner Jazz (2002), Rhino (2003) and Collectables
Collectables Records
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene was previously associated with New York City's Times Square Record Shop, Philadelphia's Record Museum retail chain, and the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels....
(2004).
In 1997, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
dubbed the album a masterpiece. AMG describes the album as "gorgeous...with a beautiful juxtaposition between the first half and the second half between the rhythmic and intervallic genius of Tristano as an improviser and as a supreme lyrical and swinging harmonist on the back half".
Controversial innovation
According to Ira GitlerIra Gitler
Ira Gitler is an American jazz historian and journalist. Perhaps best known for The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz written with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he has written hundreds of liner notes for jazz recordings since the early 1950s and is the author of dozens...
in The Masters of Be-Bop, the overdubbing and tape speed manipulation on this album unleashed a furor. Tristano had begun experimenting in 1951, when he had additional piano tracks, some of which had been speeded by engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Rudy van Gelder, added to his recording of the songs "Ju Ju" and "Pastime". Tristano later recalled that not a single reviewer questioned the multitracking of those songs. According to Tristano, questions began to arise six months to a year later. At the time, Tristano declined to discuss it. In an interview years later, he described a private incident where Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and Willie Kapell debated the topic in his home. After Bernstein declared his certainty that the songs were multitracked, Kapell demonstrated that the speed was possible by playing a Mozart tune 16 times faster than it would generally be played.
Following the release of Lennie Tristano, the usage of multitracking and tape speed was widely questioned and criticized on the songs "Line Up", "Turkish Mambo" and "East Thirty-Second". In the case of "Turkish Mambo", Tristano played three separate and conflicting piano tracks, with left-hand rhythms of five, six and seven beats beneath right-hand improvisation. Tristano made specific reference to that song in defending his choice, stating that "[i]f I do multiple tapes, I don't feel I'm a phony thereby. Take "The Turkish Mambo". There is no other way I could do it so that I could get the rhythms to go together the way I feel them."
On the question of tape speed, he added, "If people want to think I speeded up the piano on "Line Up" and "East Thirty-Second", I don't care. What I care about is that the result sounded good to me." Contributing bassist
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Peter Ind
Peter Ind
Peter Ind is a British jazz double-bassist and record producer.Ind began playing professionally in the late 1940s, including being part of the 'house band' on the ship Queen Mary from 1949 to 1951. He relocated to New York City in 1951, where he played with Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz , Buddy...
, inspired to later use the same technique on his own album Looking Out, argued on the contrary to those who feel this is a deceptive technique that it is simply another tool an artist may use to craft his work.
Through controversial immediately on release, Tristano's decision to use the technique was described in 1997 by The New York Times as "celebrated".
Track listing
All songs composed by Lennie TristanoLennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
, unless otherwise noted.
- "Line Up" – 3:34
- "Requiem" – 4:53
- "Turkish Mambo" – 3:41
- "East Thirty-Second" – 4:33
- "These Foolish ThingsThese Foolish ThingsThese Foolish Things is a 1973 album by Bryan Ferry, containing cover versions of standard songs. It was his first solo effort, still being Roxy Music's lead singer...
" (Harry LinkHarry LinkHarry Link, born Harry Linkey was an American songwriter. He wrote or co-wrote several well-known jazz standards....
, Holt Marvell, Jack StracheyJack StracheyJack Strachey , was an English composer and songwriterBorn John Francis Strachey in London, England on 25 September 1894 he began writing songs in the 1920s for the theatre and the music hall, scoring his first success with songs he had written for Frith Shephard's long running musical revue Lady...
) – 5:46 - "You Go to My HeadYou Go to My Head"You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. The song is a unique conjunction of a sophisticated lyric and complex, lush harmonic structure by two songwriters who were not generally known for such elegance; nevertheless the song is highly...
" (J. Fred CootsJ. Fred CootsJohn Frederick Coots was an American songwriter. He wrote over 700 songs.He is most famous for the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", a song that became one of the biggest best sellers in American music history....
, Haven GillespieHaven GillespieJames Lamont "Haven" Gillespie was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as well as "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", "Breezin' Along With The Breeze", "Right or Wrong," "Beautiful Love",...
) – 5:20 - "If I Had You" (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Ted ShapiroTed ShapiroTed Shapiro was a United States popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher.Shapiro was born in New York City. He became a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and accompanied notable star vaudeville singers of the day, including Nora Bayes and Eva Tanguay. In 1921 he was hired as accompanist...
) – 6:29 - "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With YouI Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is a 1932 song composed by Victor Young, with lyrics written by Ned Washington and Bing Crosby, recorded on October 14, 1932 by Bing Crosby in New York. Bing Crosby was accompanied by the ARC Brunswick Studio Orchestra with Lennie Hayton on piano. Two...
" (Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
, Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
) – 6:07 - "All the Things You AreAll the Things You Are"All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.It was written for the musical Very Warm for May , where it was introduced by Hiram Sherman, Frances Mercer, Hollace Shaw, and Ralph Stuart...
" (Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
) – 6:11
Personnel
- Lennie TristanoLennie TristanoLeonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
1-4
- Peter IndPeter IndPeter Ind is a British jazz double-bassist and record producer.Ind began playing professionally in the late 1940s, including being part of the 'house band' on the ship Queen Mary from 1949 to 1951. He relocated to New York City in 1951, where he played with Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz , Buddy...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Jeff Morton – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
5-9
- Lee KonitzLee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Gene RameyGene RameyGene Ramey was an American jazz double bassist.Ramey was born in Austin, Texas, and played trumpet in college, but switched to sousaphone when playing with George Corley's Royal Aces, The Moonlight Serenaders, and Terrence Holder. In 1932 he moved to Kansas City and took up the bass, studying with...
– bass - Art TaylorArt TaylorArthur S. Taylor, Jr. was an American jazz drummer of the hard bop school.After playing in the bands of Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Buddy DeFranco, Bud Powell, and George Wallington from 1948 to 1957, he formed his own group, the Wailers...
– drums
- Barry UlanovBarry UlanovBarry Ulanov was an American writer.Ulanov's father was Nathan Ulanov, concertmaster in Arturo Toscanini's NBC Philharmonic. His father taught him violin, but after a car crash in which he broke both wrists, he ceased studying the instrument. He studied at Columbia University, taking his BA there...
– liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:... - Jay Maisel – artwork