Crosscurrents

VINYL FORMAT. One of jazz music's best kept secrets, the blind Chicago-born pianist Lennie Tristano was a major innovator in his field and is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He also broke major ground with the release of this album, Crosscurrents, in 1949, which is widely considered one of the earliest recordings ever made (if not THE earliest) in the free jazz style (years before his better-known colleague, Ornette Coleman). It is not only significant, however, because it is innovative, but also because the playing is consistently excellent. In addition to Tristano's sextet (featuring Lee Konitz and Wayne Marsh), we also hear clarinetist Buddy DeFranco's sextet (featuring Teddy Charles), and both DeFranco and trombonist Bill Harris playing with a big band.