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Billy Lester, from Yonkers, NY, began playing piano at age 41/2. At age 16 he began studying with the great Jazz master improviser Sal Mosca; a stint that lasted 15 years.

Here are excerpts from a review of Lester"s latest release "High Standards" written by Tony Frankel in CD-DVD.

"Billy Lester reminds us that reinvention isn't just possible in Jazz--it's the point."

"Lester plunges into the American songbook not to pay homage but to interrogate it, dismantle it, and rebuild it on his own terms. [His music] is no polite stroll through familiar melodies. Instead, each [song] becomes a high-wire act of improvisation, exhilarating in its spontaneity and fearless in its abstraction."

"Listeners familiar with Lester's lineage, a [student] of Sal Mosca and by extension Lennie Tristano will recognize the deep commitment to improvisation that's less about showing off and more about searching. [His songs] are pushed to their harmonic edges. The melodies are not introduced outright, so those who don't know the original standards should listen intently."

Billy Lester thanks Soapbox gallery for providing a venue for him to share his improvised music.

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