A blind pianist from Chicago, Lennie Tristano's unpredictable, improvised style
went against the grain of 1940s jazz and made him a significant influence on
what became known as "the birth of the cool". While never achieving the
reputation and fame of his great contemporary Miles Davis, Tristano's rejection
of extravagance and grandstanding in favour of more suppressed emotional styles
wasn't to the taste of some jazz fans who thought his music cold, but proved to
be an important bridge between bebop and free-form jazz.
Blind from birth, he was first taught to play piano by hi...