BY DIANA MAEURER | Musicians and friends in the Chelsea community and beyond were saddened to learn of the passing of Ed Tristram over Christmas weekend last year. He was 76.
Ed was a dear neighbor to all in Chelsea. He and his wife, Greta Tristram, were very longtime residents of the neighborhood living at W. 22nd Street in attached brownstones.
When Ed was not ambling around the nabe, he’d take a break from the office and go to busk at the F train subway station at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue. In fact, he put out an entire CD entitled “Subway Tunes”!
Music was a gigantic part of Ed’s life as a guitarist, songwriter, performer and producer, and he put out numerous CDs. Ed performed on guitar, along with Greta backing him on harmonica, all over the city and it was always such a joy for the audience.
Ed was in the midst of producing an album of his original songs performed by other artists when the pandemic hit. Not to be deterred, his supportive singers in New York’s music world recorded the songs on their own, and the CD came to fruition with the release of “Ed Tristram – Special Coverage NYC.” Check it out!
In addition to Chelsea, Ed had strong connections to Greenwich Village and the music scene there.
Ed was also an avid city cyclist. He possessed an ironic yet gentle sense of humor. He had a wonderful outlook on life, greeting each day as a new song.
He leaves his immediate family: wife Greta, daughter Lesia, son Ed and 1-year old granddaughter Amalie.
In celebration of Ed Tristram’s life, Greta is hosting a “Celebration in Music” of both Ed’s compositions and ones done by other artists on Sat., Oct. 7, at Silvana’s, at 300 W. 116th St., from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (The B and C train stop at the corner. Note: There are stairs.)
“We are going to try to recreate Ed’s very favorite thing to do: invite folks to eat, drink and play music,” Greta said. “Some have chosen to play Ed’s songs, and some will play songs that he and I love, ones that they either wrote or didn’t write. And some people — including myself — aren’t going to play at all — just gather with each other.”
I just saw the article you posted about the memorial svc for Ed Tristram. The svc has already happened, but the person who wrote the article should be told that the B train does not run on the wknds (or at night), and thus the directions to the svc might’ve led someone to wait for the B train, which mostly runs on a different platform than the C train, thus leaving that person in the lurch when they figured out that no B was going to come. Knowing about the B’s circumscribed svc is just a New York thing to know. So if the writer is a New Yorker, this is useful info to keep in mind.
It was a loving and beautiful gathering for Ed. So glad we were able to come together for Ed and share time with Greta.
Thank you Lincoln for posting this announcement about Ed Tristram.
Thank you Dianna and Lincoln for this lovely tribute. Ed would have been so pleased to read it
Well, Ed lived it.
I simply wrote it down.
(But, yeah I think he would have been secretly pleased.)