Sal Mosca
b. Salvatore Joseph Mosca, 27 April 1927, Mount Vernon, New York, USA. A student, disciple and close friend of Lennie Tristano, pianist Mosca has followed his mentor's example by recording and touring only rarely. In the '50s he did play on several Lee Konitz albums, and some sessions with Peter Indlater appeared on the bassist's Wave label. In the '70s Mosca again worked with Konitz and with Warne Marsh, toured Europe as a solo artist and played at the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert in 1979. In the '80s he was seldom heard as a performer, but remained active as a teacher. A remarkably subtle player, with the sophisticated harmonic ear characteristic of Tristanoites, Mosca can disguise the chord changes of the best-known standard so cleverly that he makes it virtually unrecognizable, creating an entirely new tune in the process.