Jazz Visions: Lennie Tristano and His Legacy (Popular Music History)

Lennie Tristano was one of jazz's most extraordinary innovators, possessing a superb piano technique and an awesome musical imagination. Unheralded by the general public, the blind pianist's work was revered by many jazz greats including the legendary Charlie Parker. Tristano's persuasive personality made him an ideal teacher, and he proved that (against the accepted theory of the time) jazz improvisation could be taught. His guidance played a big part in the development of many instrumentalists including saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh and double-bassist Peter Ind. It is Ind's long, direct involvement with his subject that makes this such a revealing book: the story of an English musician going to New York to study with an unsung Jazz giant. In the process, Tristano's genius is examined and his reputation revalued, with Ind making a persuasive case for the pianist to be placed at the centre of jazz developments in the mid-20th century.

This talks more about jazz history than Lenny. I wanted mor Lenny, but it covered a lot of stuff that wasn't Lenny. It does have ally of grea things about him and about the times, though, that I have yet to read about or even hear about in any other jazz book, and I've read a bunch.

It's slow in the beginning and I thought it would never talk about him, but it gets better later on.

For me the book was reasonably on topic. It was short for my liking, especially since it didn't talk as much about Lenny as I wanted.

Nonetheless, If you are a jazz fan (which you probably are if you are interested in a book about Lenny) is agrea book to have read!!

I believe this book gets 4 out of 5 stars simply due to the dearth of material on Tristano. Ind begins well, providing a general idea of the atmosphere in New York in the immediate post-war era, and his descriptions of himself as a wide-eyed youngster amidst all the great jazzmen who worked in New York in the late 40s and 50s makes for especially good reading. If you enjoy hearing an older person reminisce, you'll love the first few chapters. However, Ind devotes most of chapter 4 to the bizarre ideas on psychiatry of Wilhelm Reich, making Ind appear more as an annoying know-it-all bright college kid instead of an seasoned jazz man whose subtitle to Jazz Visions is "Lennie Tristano and his Legacy." I am unable to discern how Reich's ideas affected Tristano, or what they even mean, but I take him at his word that they did.

Ind does an excellent job of providing the reader a glimpse into the playful and nurturing sides of Tristano, something that I never knew, and it is clear that he holds Tristano in the highest esteem. Ind continually drives home the point that Tristano's main legacy remains his relentless promotion of the skill of improvisation. Chapter 6 may well be the best chapter, as Ind provides mini-biographies of Tristano's disciples. One can sense a bit of sadness, as Ind relates that many of those men are now dying off.

Other chapters discuss some of the more technical aspects of Tristano's skills and of jazz in general. Ind veers off course quite a bit when he spends way too much time lamenting the struggles that artists endure. He especially bemoans Tristano's lack of popularity. Such complaining gets old. Artists have always struggled for respectability, and we all know that it is rarely the most talented (in any profession) who enjoy fame and fortune. The worst aspect of Ind's writing is when he--ironically enough, it seems--improvises on social and political issues. He has lived in and made music in two of the most liberal countries in the world, yet cannot seem to understand that the demise of jazz as a form of popular music goes hand-in-hand with increasingly liberal societies. He drops a whopper on page 177 when, in a rather disjointed discussion about race relations, he makes it known that Pennsylvania is "well north of the Mason-Dixon Line." The Mason-Dixon Line makes up Pennsylvania's southeastern border. Moreover, having lived and worked in New York City for many years, he ought to admit that it is the most racially divided city in the US--and maybe the world--before he knocks other regions of the country.

Ind's writing style is fluid and he tells a good story. However, he cannot resist bowing to the gods of political correctness as he routinely subjects the reader to various forms of feminist gender-speak: "he or she," "his or her," and even "s/he"(!) frankly make me glad the book is only 214 pages.

I was disappointed with his "Select Discography." Given the relatively meager output of Tristano, it would not confuse the reader to have all of Tristano's works listed. He even missed the reissue of "Plectrist" from Billy Bauer, a serious oversight.

The last chapter of the book is devoted to summarizing the previous chapters, and it is an admirable effort. If you like Tristano or want to get to know him, this is an important book.

Wonderful book, well researched and much from a personal perspective. People either love Lennie Tristano or hate him; very little in between. Perhaps this book will help people understand. Should be in any Jazz lovers collection.