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Lee Konitz

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Lee Konitz

Background information
Birth name Lee Konitz
Born October 13, 1927 (1927-10-13) (age 81)
Origin Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genre(s) Jazz
Cool jazz
Occupation(s) Saxophonist, Composer
Instrument(s) Alto saxophone
Associated acts Jim Hall, Elvin Jones, Lennie Tristano
Warne Marsh

Lee Konitz (born October 13, 1927) is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois. Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings. Konitz was one of the few altoists to retain a distinctive sound in the 50s, when Charlie Parker exercised a tremendous influence on other players.

Konitz, like other students of pianist and theoretician Lennie Tristano, was noted for spontaneous composition of long, melodic lines with the rhythmic interest coming from odd accents, or odd note groupings suggestive of the imposition of one time signature over another. Paul Desmond and, especially, Art Pepper were strongly influenced by Konitz.

Konitz's association with the Cool Jazz movement of the 1940s and 50s, includes participation in Miles Davis' epochal "Birth of the Cool" sessions, and his work with Lennie Tristano came from the same period. During his long career, Konitz has played with musicians from a wide variety of jazz styles.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Lee Konitz was born in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois into a Jewish family (Konitz is a variant of the name Cohen). At age eight Konitz received his first instrument—a clarinet—but later dropped the instrument in favor of the tenor saxophone. Konitz eventually moved from tenor to alto. His greatest influences at the time were the swing big bands he and his brother listened to on the radio, in particular Benny Goodman. Hearing Goodman on the radio is actually what prodded him to ask for a clarinet. On the saxophone he recalls improvising before ever learning to play any standards.[1]

Konitz began his professional career in 1945 with the Teddy Powell band as a replacement for Charlie Ventura. The engagement apparently did not start out smoothly, as Ventura is said to have banged his head against a wall when Konitz played. A month later the band parted ways. Between 1945 and 1947 he worked off and on with Jerry Wald. In 1946 he first met pianist Lennie Tristano—himself still a teen—and worked in a small cocktail bar with him. His next substantial work was done with Claude Thornhill in 1947, with Gil Evans arranging and Gerry Mulligan as a composer in most part.[2][3]

In 1949 he teamed up with the Miles Davis group for one or two weeks and again in 1950 to record "Birth of the Cool". Konitz has stated that he considered the group to belong to Gerry Mulligan, and credits Lennie Tristano as the true forebearer of "the cool". His debut as leader also came in 1949, with the release of Subconscious-Lee on Prestige Records. He also turned down an opportunity to work with Benny Goodman that same year—a decision he is on record as regretting.[4]

In the early 1950s, Konitz recorded and toured with Stan Kenton's orchestra. In 1961, he recorded Motion with Elvin Jones on drums and Sonny Dallas on bass. This spontaneous session, widely regarded as a classic in the cool genre, consisted entirely of standards. The loose trio format aptly featured Konitz's unorthodox phrasing and chromaticism.

Charlie Parker lent him support on the day Konitz's child was being born in Seattle, Washington with him stuck in New York City. The two were actually good friends, and not the rivals some jazz critics once made them out to be.[5] He has also had problems with his heart which he has received surgery for in the past.[6]

In 1967, Konitz recorded The Lee Konitz Duets, a series of duets with various musicians. The duo configurations were often unusual for the period (saxophone and trombone, two saxophones). The recordings drew on very nearly the entire history of jazz, from a Louis Armstrong dixieland number with valve trombonist Marshall Brown to two completely free duos: one with a Duke Ellington associate, violinist Ray Nance, and one with guitarist Jim Hall.

Konitz contributed to the film score for Desperate Characters (1971).

Konitz has been quite prolific, recording dozens of albums as a band leader. He has also recorded or performed with Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Elvin Jones and others.

Konitz has become more experimental as he grows older, and has released a number of free and avant-garde jazz albums, playing alongside many far younger musicians. He has released albums on contemporary free jazz/improv labels such as hatART, Soul Jazz and Omnitone.

[edit] Discography

[edit] As leader

[edit] As sideman

[edit] Further reading

Andy Hamilton: *Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser's Art* (University of Michigan Press, 2007).

Crafted out of numerous interviews between the author and his subject, the book offers a unique account of Konitz’s life and music, detailing his own insights into his musical education and his experiences with such figures as Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, Warne Marsh, Lennie Tristano, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell and Bill Evans. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robinson, Michael. "An interview with Lee Konitz". http://www.sawf.org/Newedit/edit09182000/musicarts.asp. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 
  2. ^ "Ibid"; Gordon, Jack
  3. ^ "Ibid"; Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center
  4. ^ "Ibid"; Gordon, Jack
  5. ^ "Ibid"; An Interview with Lee Konitz
  6. ^ Jung, Fred. "A Fireside Chat With Lee Konitz". http://www.jazzweekly.com/interviews/konitz.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Konitz"
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