Carol Liebowitz, Nick Lyons, First Set

In the wake of Connie Crothers' untimely passing we have a reminder that the Tristano-Crothers tradition lives on with the Carol Liebowitz/Nick Lyons album First Set (Line Art Records LA1002CD). We have Carol and Nick playing two of Connie's pieces, "Carol's Dream" and "Roy's Joy" and we otherwise have a fine set in the freeform mode that Lennie helped pioneer and Connie perfected in her piano art.

Carol's piano and Nick's alto bear witness to what the two have brought to their playing styles and also give us their own original take on where a complex, soulful freedom can go today.

As the title suggests it is a live set, well recorded in 2012 in what was a part of Connie's loft series in Brooklyn back then.

The two have a bracing spontaneity and creative drive that is exciting to hear. It reminds us nicely that New York is still NOW, that it remains the vital center for the new jazz. And it gives us an exciting earful of two master practitioners of the art in fine form.

RIP, Connie. Long live Carol and Nick. Recommended!