Who was Sal Mosca?

Who was Sal Mosca?  Are you ready for this (those who have no idea who he was)? Sal was arguably the greatest jazz pianist of his generation.  Born in 1927 and professionally active from the mid-1940s until his death in 2007, Sal never stopped developing.  His first jazz recordings were with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, and he continued to record into the 21st Century.  He has a very impressive and extensive discography, which you can see on his website, salmosca.com  

Sal came from the era of skill over hype.  He was a marginal self-promoter at best.  He believed that music speaks for itself, and if a musician isn't recognized for his playing, then any other type of recognition isn't worth having.  The jazz world, such as it is, basically ignored him. They still ignore him, although his recordings show him to be a world class pianist and improviser who could hold his own with or indeed surpass any of the established and fully recognized jazz pianists.  Young players of all instruments would do well to listen to his recordings and to take note of his completely non-commercial approach to music.     

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