THE BILLY LESTER TRIO, High Standards

Spiritual minded jazz artists often sense the presence of the ghosts of legends in the room when they’re composing, improvising and/or recording, feeling a sense of inspiration and encouragement from beyond and the responsibility of carrying on certain legacies. When the storied pianist Billy Lester, bassist Marcello Testa and drummer Nicola Stranieri gathered at Il Polaio studio in Ronco Biellese, Italy in July 2017 to record the now finally seeing the light of day Billy Lester Trio album High Standards, there’s little doubt that Lester’s mentor Sal Mosca – and perhaps, Mosca’s mentor Lennie Tristano – were right there with them.

In Lester’s brief but insightful liner notes to this exciting, dynamically arranged and wildly adventurous multi-mood filled 9-track, 62-minute session, the veteran piano virtuoso recounts that he had his first lesson with Mosca in 1962 when he was 16. He had played since he was four and a half, and had played everything from local weddings and jazz sessions – but Mosca’s advice to Lester about finding his individuality, along with his suggestion to buy the Lennie Leaps album (featuring Lester Young and the Count Basie Orchestra) changed his jazz mindset forever. Many decades later, Lester and his trio truly reflect the High Standards of beauty, integrity, originality, sincerity and piano skill that was passed down to him. (He writes those virtues ALL IN CAPS so we take special note of their importance).

The greatest moments of the set are the high energy, fast paced swings through of classics like “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” “I’ll Remember April” and “Lover. Come Back To Me” that zip by at breakneck speed but allow listeners to appreciate the swirl of deeply grooving artistry and wildly spirited improvisation that fuel the imaginative, exploratory arrangements. Offering proper complementary balance, the trio allows us to catch our breath and still our toe-tapping on slower paced, more methodical but still richly intoxicating seductions like “What Is This Thing Called Love” and “You Go To My Head.”

The final track is, as its matter of fact title implies a true “Free Improvisation” which allows Lester (playing solo) the liberty of creating both subtle, haunting moments and dramatic flourishes in a space “free” of rhythmic patterns that might otherwise ground him. A 1998 bio by Howard Mandel, then President of the Jazz Journalist Association, calls Lester “a late-bloomer on that reticent branch of the jazz tree, the school of Lennie Tristano.” From on high, both Tristano and Mosca are no doubt greatly enjoying this album as they admire the way their legacies are being celebrated.