Pianist Lennie Tristano was an early inspiration and a major influence on the playing of altoist Lee Konitz and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh. Their very notable and highly original Capitol recordings of 1949 -- with the quiet metronomic rhythm section, advanced melodic improvising and reharmonizations -- stood apart from the typical bop of the period. By 1955, when the earliest performances on this limited-edition 1997 six-CD set were recorded, the trio was not working together very often; in fact, Tristano was mostly functioning as a teacher, only surfacing for occasional records and club dates. Despite the title of the box, Tristano, Konitz and Marsh never all appeared on the same Atlantic record. However, their individual projects and collaborations during the era were of consistently high quality. Included on the set are a live quartet date with Konitz and Tristano, a couple of the pianist's solo and trio sessions (including a few controversial items where he overdubbed and even sped up piano parts), several Konitz quartet sets (with such sidemen as pianists Sal Mosca and Jimmy Rowles and guitarist Billy Bauer), a Marsh trio/quartet album, and a stimulating meeting between Konitz and Marsh (with Mosca and Bauer) in a sextet. Four of the performances were previously unreleased, and one of the Konitz albums was formerly only available in Japan. Although the inventive music often utilizes familiar chord changes, there are plenty of surprises in the cool-toned solos, and this is well worth acquiring by bop collectors.
Disc 1
01. April (7:20)
02. Sweet and Lovely (5:28)
03. Background Music (6:03)
04. If I Had You (6:31)
05. Donna Lee (5:35)
06. 317 E. 32ND (7:01)
07. These Foolish Things (5:43)
08. 'S Wonderful (5:02)
09. You Go To My Head (5:28)
10. All The Things You Are (6:17)
11. Lennie- Bird (6:06)
(1-11)
- Lee Konitz (as)
- Lennie Tristano (p)
- Gene Ramey (b)
- Art Taylor (d)
Disc 2
01. My Melancholy Baby (8:10)
02. April (8:15)
03. Pennies In Minor (6:17)
04. Mean To Me (7:42)
05. Confucius Blues (6:44)
06. A Ghost Of A Chance (6:08)
07. Whispering (4:18)
08. Background Music (alt tk) (6:30)
09. There Will Never Be Another You (7:34)
10. Donna Lee (6:33)
(1-10)
- Lee Konitz (as)
- Lennie Tristano (p)
- Gene Ramey (b)
- Art Taylor (d)
Disc 3
01. East Thirty-Second (4:33)
02. Line Up (3:34)
03. Turkish Mambo (3:40)
04. Requiem (4:53)
05. Becoming (4:34)
06. C Minor Complex (5:51)
07. You Don't Know What Love Is (3:29)
08. Deliberation (4:52)
09. Scene And Variations: Carol/Tania/Bud (11:53)
10. Love Lines (2:21)
11. G Minor Complex (3:51)
(1-4)
- Lennie Tristano (p)
- Peter Ind (b)
- Jeff Morton (d)
- (5-11)
- Lennie Tristano (p)
Disc 4
01. Indiana (5:23)
02. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (4:17)
03. Star Eyes (5:23)
04. Nesuhi's Instant (5:08)
05. I Remember You (5:04)
06. All Of Me (5:11)
07. Sweet And Lovely (4:03)
08. Cork 'N' Bib (5:32)
09. Everything Happens To Me (4:09)
10. Kary's Trance (6:10)
11. The Nearness Of You (5:14)
12. Like Someone In Love (5:28)
(1-6)
- Lee Koniz (ts)
- Sal Mosca (p)
- Peter Ind (b)
- Dick Scott (d)
(7-10)
- Lee Koniz (ts, as)
- Billy Bauer (g)
- Arnold Frishkind (b)
- Dick Scott (d)
(11-12)
- Lee Konitz (as, ts -1)
- Jimmy Rowles (p)
- Leroy Vinnegar (b)
- Shelly Manne (d)
Disc 5
01. Don't Explain (3:00)
02. Some Of These Days (4:10)
03. Close Your Eyes (3:54)
04. You're Driving Me Crazy (5:44)
05. Don't Blame Me (3:44)
06. Straightaway (3:46)
07. Foolin' Myself (4:44)
08. You Go To My Head (6:26)
09. My Melancholy Baby (4:01)
10. Pennies In Minor (8:46)
11. Sweet And Lovely (2:20)
12. Easy Living (3:45)
13. Midway (3:23)
14. Topsy (5:27)
15. I Can't Get Started (3:54)
(1-5)
- Lee Konitz (as, ts -1)
- Jimmy Rowles (p)
- Leroy Vinnegar (b)
- Shelly Manne (d)
(6-13)
- Lee Konitz (as)
- Don Ferrara (tp -1)
- Billy Bauer (g)
- Peter Ind (b)
- Dick Scott (d)
(14-15)
- Lee Konitz (as)
- Warne Marsh (ts)
- Billy Bauer (g)
- Oscar Pettiford (b)
- Kenny Clarke (d)
Disc 6
01. Two Not One (5:34)
02. There Will Never Be Another You (4:48)
03. Donna Lee (6:17)
04. Don't Squawk (7:20)
05. Background Music (5:49)
06. Ronnie's Line (3:09)
07. Too Close For Comfort (3:49)
08. It's All Right With Me (8:18)
09. Yardbird Suite (5:02)
10. My Melancholy Baby (7:57)
11. Excerpt (3:34)
12. Just Squeeze Me (6:38)
(1-5)
- Lee Konitz (as)
- Warne Marsh (ts)
- Sal Mosca (p)
- Billy Bauer (g)
- Oscar Pettiford (b)
- Kenny Clarke (d)
(6)
- Lee Konitz (ts)
- Ronnie Ball (p)
- Peter Ind (b)
- Dick Scott (d)
(7-8)
- Warne Marsh (ts)
- Ronnie Ball (p)
- Paul Chambers (b)
- Philly Joe Jones (d)
(9-12)
- Warne Marsh (ts)
- Paul Chambers (b)
- Paul Motian (d)
