In 1964, when asked what he thought of [John] Coltrane, [Sonny] Rollins, and [Miles] Davis, Tristano answered, "All emotion, no feeling." He replied to "How do you distinguish between the two?" with: "Well, say I believe there is no real hysteria or hostility in jazz, their stuff is the expression of the ego. I want jazz to flow out of the id. Putting it another way, real jazz is what you can play before you are all screwed up; the other happens after you're screwed up." 
In all fairness, anybody know what Miles or Coltrane or Rollins thought of Lennie? When you intellectualize something (as opposed to just enjoying it), you have to realize that it's just your opinion - not necessarily the gospel. Although I can't really picture Donny being an avid fan of Lennie Tristano, I DO know that we tend to rely too much on the opinions of people we admire. I seriously doubt if Lennie's opinion will do much to tarnish the image of these jazz stalwarts. Just MY opinion.
chas
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