A Pianist Thinking Ahead of Himself
Recorded in 1949 but not released until 1972, Crosscurrents arrived as a document from another era.
Crosscurrents arrived in 1972 as a strange gift from the past. The sides had been recorded in 1949, nearly a quarter-century earlier, which meant Lennie Tristano was offering listeners a time capsule of his thinking from a pivotal moment in bebop's evolution. By the time Capitol released the album, Tristano's reputation was already established among musicians and serious listeners, but this record didn't land as a major commercial event. It was the kind of release that deepened respect among those already paying attention rather than converting new audiences.
What makes these recordings worth hearing is precisely their distance from immediate commercial pressure. Recorded when Tristano was working through the harmonic and melodic possibilities that bebop had opened up, the music shows a pianist thinking several moves ahead of where his contemporaries were heading. AllMusic gave the album a perfect 5/5, recognizing what lay beneath the surface: playing that combined technical precision with genuine exploratory ambition. This wasn't nostalgia when it came out; it was evidence of where Tristano's mind had already been.
The album's later induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013 confirmed what insiders had always known—that Tristano's work from this period was foundational, even if it took decades for the wider world to catch up. These recordings work best for listeners ready to sit with something demanding and unrewarding on first pass, but revealing on the tenth.
Who's playing
Peter Inddouble bass
Gene Rameybass
Lennie Tristanopiano
Lee Konitzalto saxophone
Jeff Mortondrums
Art Taylordrums
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
