Sal Mosca - Sal Mosca for Lennie Tristano. Solo Piano 1970 and 1997 (2022)

During my seven-year archival project transferring all of Sal's personal recordings to the Institute of Jazz Studies (Rutgers Univ., Newark, New Jersey), I uncovered this reel-to-reel audio tape in Sal's Mt. Vernon, New York, studio, tucked away in a drawer in his corner desk separate from all of his other tapes. It was tied closed with a thick string from top to bottom as well as from side to side. On the back of the cardboard box, written in Sal's exquisite penmanship, were the words, “Solo Tape for Lennie Tristano, February 2, 1970.” I was so excited that this tape (if it was still playable) would have some really great early Sal Mosca piano playing. I had to wait a few weeks until I was able to locate a high-end tape player before I could listen.

In the interim, I wondered whether this was the source file. Sal's studio burnt in the mid-1970s, and he'd lost everything, including his piano. It was surprising to find anything like this from 1970 in this new studio. Did Lennie own this tape and return it? Or did Sal get it back after Lennie's death? From what I've been told, Lennie probably labelled it in Braille on the back cover. When I found this tape, I had already archived a few hundred hours of Sal's music. The recordings started as early as 1950. But I realized that this was the first complete recording of solo piano by Sal. It was more than five years earlier than Sal's first solo release, Sal Mosca Music, on Interplay Records. Finally, after hearing the first tune, You Go to My Head, I knew this was a special recording, and when I finished listening to both sides of the tape, I understood why Sal would have wanted to give this to Lennie or to record it specifically for him. It's one great pianist paying homage to another great pianist who happened to be his teacher, close friend, and one of his major influences; however, Sal, even with some obvious Lennie influence, remained true to himself throughout; he was able to pay and play tribute to Lennie without ever copying Lennie, yet on a feeling level, the influence is undeniable. But Sal was doing something new, especially with his sense of time, his unique sound, his melodic creativity, and his unmistakable multilined, two-handed approach to improvising. His love of Tatum, as a piano stylist, is also there.

As a result of this archiving project, the Mosca family and I had already released seven CDs on two separate albums for Sunnyside and Cadence Jazz. Whether to release this album or any of the previous posthumous albums carried a significant responsibility for me. I had to answer: “Does this add to Sal's legacy?” If this was the only recording someone heard of Sal, would it represent him? Is this music more than just historical? My feeling was and still is a resounding “yes!” It is historical as it is the earliest recording available of Sal's solo piano playing, but mainly it is thrilling to hear Sal's intense and electric improvising. It reveals where his solo piano playing was going, and how he might approach the standard tunes that he loved, the lines he wrote and played in the years to come. And if Sal felt that this was good enough to give to Lennie (and that is something impressive), then it is quite good to share with the rest of us.

Before I approached the Moscas with the idea of releasing this music, I needed further affirmation. It was just too important. Even though I knew Sal's music really well (we became very close friends during his last 10 years and played sessions and some gigs together for 7 years), I needed to consult with a few players who I thought also knew his playing intimately. I went to Larry Bluth, Connie Crothers, Jimmy Halperin, and Peter Prisco, all really wonderful jazz musicians, who either studied with Lennie or Sal. They agreed that this should be released. I also included two additional solo piano arrangements from 1997 that he was proud of. He played these two pieces, “In A Mist” and “Stella By Starlight,” on a WCKR-FM radio show in 1998 dedicated to his music.

Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Halperin, a student of both Lennie and Sal, is someone that I think will be forever linked with Sal's music and Sal’s teaching. Jimmy is an original improviser. Sal said of Jimmy, in a Cadence Magazine interview from 2001, “Jimmy is the most prepared student I ever had and the most professional student I ever played with.” It's so fitting that we were able to interview Jimmy regarding Sal, Lennie, and this album. I consider myself so very fortunate to have played with both Jimmy and Sal, as well as for being able to hear Sal perform solo or with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. The last time I played with Sal was on New Year's Day 2007 at Bird- land, NYC. He died in July, though he was able to perform in Europe for a series of concerts and workshops in January 2007. Sal was 80. I'm certain that you will enjoy this music and be thrilled and awed by it as I have been, perhaps as Lennie was too.

—Don Messina, July 2021