Lenny Popkin

Leonard Popkin came into the world on 30 May 1941 in New York City. An accomplished though under-recognized tenor saxophonist, he joined forces with Connie Crothers in 1979 to organize the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert at Town Hall. From the 1980s onward and continuing through the following decade, the two musicians co-directed a quartet whose considerable strengths remained largely confined to audiences along the eastern seaboard. The ensemble had been assembled chiefly to keep Tristano’s music alive; its original lineup included bassist Cameron Brown, later replaced by Rich Califano, alongside drummer Carol Tristano, Lennie’s daughter.

Within that Tristano-centered context Popkin performs as a measured, analytical soloist aligned with the Warne Marsh lineage. On ballads outside those settings he adopts a gentler, seemingly unforced manner. He has also appeared alongside alto saxophonist Richard Tabnik, likewise shaped by Tristano’s approach to jazz. Popkin’s reputation has never matched the caliber of his playing. That limited visibility owes something to the fact that most of his recordings appeared on New Artists Records, the elusive imprint established in the late 1970s by Tristano adherents.