Descent into the Maelstrom in Bloomington, MN

This hard-to-find LP starts off with the utterly unique title cut. On this completely atonal track (which predates
Cecil Taylor
by a few years),
Lennie Tristano
overdubbed several pianos and created picturesque and extremely intense music. The remainder of this album is mostly comprised of leftovers and rehearsal tracks which, considering
Tristano
's slim discography, is quite welcome. The pianist is heard solo in 1961 and 1965, in a trio with bassist
Peter Ind
and drummer
Roy Haynes
in 1952 and (in what might be his last recordings) performing a pair of originals with bassist
Sonny Dallas
Nick Stabulas
in 1966.
fans can consider this important release to be essential. ~ Scott Yanow