Sometimes, there are jazz artists that undeservedly slip through the acoustic cracks. Here are a handful of guys that put out some material a number of years ago. They recently got my attention, and deserve yours as well.
Tenor saxist Jimmy Halperin has a 
mix of Lester Young coolness and Warne Marsh modernity to his sound and style. His Cycle Logical album form 2001 teams him with Don Messina/b and Bill Chattin/dr, and gets accolades for mixing lithe and lyrical swing on “Everything Happens to Me” and “Sweet Georgia Brown” to advanced but accessible elliptical explorations as on the delightfully hip “Subconsious-Lee” and “Amoeba.” Hints of Lennie Tristano’s sophisticated subtleties abound on this creative gem.
Halperin does a 49 minute “uninterrupted” duet with piano legend Sal Mosca on his Psalm album, and what could have turned into a near hour of navel gazing is actual an amazingly lyrical conversation. Mosca ids given plenty of space, with the opus being divided into 14 improvisations, but his fingers do some wonderfully lyrical extrapolations in the spotlight while Halperin is warm and melodic with nary a discouraging word. This is demonstration to show that “free” does not always equate “cacophony.”
Pianist Jon Easton forms a post bop jazz trio with Don Messina/b and Bill Chattin/dr for a pair of modern swing sessions. Easton’s touch has hints of Monk angularity and spaciousness, yet with a dash of cerebral bop a la Mal Waldron. The team feels comfortable stretching out on standards like “What is This Thing Called Love” and “All Of Me” while showing their allegiance to Lennie Tristano’s prismatic grooves on “Dreams” and a shadowy “Embraceable You.” The 7 Years album includes Tristano’s classic “Lennie’s Pennies” with Chattin’s ride cymbal coaxing the pace on “This One’s For Sal.”
These albums reflect an influence from Tristano’s shadow that seems to be forgotten these days, making this handful of albums all the more important to remember a style deserving more attention in this day of which Tristano prophesied would have “Emotions with no feeling.”