A debut for both
Lee Konitz and the Prestige label,
Subconscious-Lee brings together many of the students who came through
Lennie Tristano's idiosyncratic "school" of jazz during the immediate postwar years. Forging a heady approach to
Charlie Parker's innovations, full of lithe and at times super fast solo lines,
Tristano and his favorite pupil
Konitz in particular nurtured an introverted, wan, yet still swinging alternative to the frenetic muscle of bebop. Other students like tenor saxophonist
Warne Marsh, pianist
Sal Mosca, and bassist Arnold Fishkin staked claims as well and show up prominently here. And while
Tristano's "Judy" and "Retrospection" get mired in somewhat tired contemplation,
Konitz' "Subconscious-Lee" and
Marsh's "Marshmallow" stand out with brisk tempos, cascading horn lines, and fetching head statements. Avoiding the meandering course of his originals,
Tristano shines at the piano with a bevy of exciting and substantial solos;
Mosca and guitarist
Billy Bauer keep up the good work with fine contributions of their own. Good for both mind and feet and chock-full of groundbreaking work by
Konitz and
Marsh especially, this 1949-1950 recording makes for essential jazz listening. [One bonus track, "Progression," is added to this version of
Subconscious-Lee.] ~ Stephen Cook