Biography

Konitz was born on October 13, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents of Austrian and Russian descent. Aged 11, Konitz received his first instrument — a clarinet — but later dropped the instrument in favor of the tenor saxophone. He 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.

Konitz began his professional career in 1945 with the Teddy Powell band as a replacement for Charlie Ventura. 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 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.

He participated with Miles Davis in a group that only had a brief booking in September 1948 and another the following year, but recorded in 1949 and 1950 the sides collected on the Birth of the Cool album. The presence of Konitz and other white musicians in the group angered some black jazz players, many of whom were unemployed at the time, but Davis rebuffed their criticisms. Konitz has stated he considered the group to belong to Gerry Mulligan. His debut as leader also came in 1949 with sides later collected on the album Subconscious-Lee in 1955 (Prestige Records). He also turned down an opportunity to work with Goodman in 1949—a decision he is on record as regretting. Parker lent him support on the day Konitz's child was being born in Seattle, Washington, while he was stuck in New York City. The two were actually good friends, and not the rivals some jazz critics once made them out to be.

In the early 1950s, Konitz recorded and toured with Stan Kenton's orchestra, but continued to record under his own name. In 1961, he recorded Motion with Elvin Jones on drums and Sonny Dallas on bass. This spontaneous session, widely regarded as a classic, consisted entirely of standards. The loose trio format aptly featured Konitz's unorthodox phrasing and chromaticism. 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 Louis Armstrong's "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" 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). In 1981 he performed at the Woodstock Jazz Festival, held in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Creative Music Studio. Konitz has recorded or performed with Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Elvin Jones, among others. His latest recordings are a pair of trio dates with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden released on Blue Note as well a live album recorded in 2009 at Birdland and released by ECM in 2011 featuring the same lineup with the addition of drummer Paul Motian. Konitz has become more experimental as he has grown older, and has released a number of free and avant-garde jazz albums, playing alongside many far younger musicians. His album with Grace Kelly was given 4 1/2 stars by Michael Jackson in Down Beat magazine. Konitz has released albums on contemporary free jazz/improv labels such as hatART, Soul Note, Omnitone and the aforementioned ECM.

He has also had problems with his heart which he has received surgery for in the past. He was scheduled to appear at Melbourne's Recital Centre as a key attraction of the 2011 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. However he fell ill causing the last minute cancellation of the performance.

In August 2012 Konitz played to sell-out crowds at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village as part of Enfants Terribles, a collaboration with Bill Frisell, Gary Peacock and Joey Baron. Just days after his 87th birthday in 2014, Konitz played three nights at Cafe Stritch in San Jose, California with the Jeff Denson Trio - improvising on the old standards he favors.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

• 1949-50: With Tristano, Marsh and Bauer (Prestige)
• 1949-50: Lee Konitz and Stan Getz - The New Sounds (10", Prestige)
• 1949-50: "Subconscious-Lee" (Prestige/OJC, 1949-50)
• 1951: Lee Konitz Featuring Miles Davis - The New Sounds (10″, Prestige, reissued on Conception, 1956)
• 1953: Lee Konitz Plays with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Pacific Jazz) with Gerry Mulligan
• 1954: Jazz Time Paris Vol. 3: Lee Konitz Plays (Vogue)
• 1954: Konitz (10″, Storyville)
• 1954: Jazz at Storyville (Storyville)
• 1954: In Harvard Square (Storyville)
• 1954: Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (Atlantic)
• 1956: Lee Konitz Featuring Hans Koller, Lars Gullin, Roland Kovac (Swingtime)
• 1956: Inside Hi-Fi (Atlantic)
• 1957: Tranquility (Verve)
• 1957: The Real Lee Konitz (Atlantic)
• 1958: Very Cool (Verve)
• 1958: An Image: Lee Konitz with Strings (Verve)
• 1959: Live at the Half Note (Verve)
• 1959: Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre (Verve) with Jimmy Giuffre
• 1959: You and Lee (Verve)
• 1961: Motion (Verve)
• 1965: Trio and Quartet (Magnetic)
• 1966: Modern Jazz Compositions from Haiti (Impulse!)
• 1967: The Lee Konitz Duets (Milestone)
• 1968: Impressive Rome (CAM)
• 1968: European Episode (CAM)
• 1969: Peacemeal (Milestone)
• 1970: Lee Konitz Sax Duets (Music Minus One)
• 1971: Spirits (Milestone)
• 1972: Worth While (Atlantic) - material from 1956
• 1974: Jazz à Juan (SteepleChase)
• 1974: Satori (Milestone)
• 1974: Lone-Lee (SteepleChase)
• 1974: I Concentrate on You (A Tribute to Cole Porter) (SteepleChase)
• 1975: Trio: Oleo (Sonet)
• 1975: Chicago 'n' All That Jazz (Denon: LaserLight)
• 1976: Lee Konitz Meets Warne Marsh Again (PAUSA)
• 1976: Figure and Spirit (Progressive)
• 1977: The Lee Konitz Quintet (Chiaroscuro)
• 1977: The Lee Konitz Nonet (Chiaroscuro)
• 1977: Tenorlee (Candid)
• 1977: Pyramid (Improvising Artists)
• 1979: Seasons Change with Karl Berger (Circle)
• 1979: Nonet: Live at Laren (Soul Note)
• 1979: Yes, Yes Nonet (Steeple Chase)
• 1980: Heroes (Verve)
• 1980: Anti-heroes (Verve)
• 1982: Toot Sweet (Owl)
• 1982: High Jingo (Atlas)
• 1983: Glad, Koonix! (Dragon)
• 1983: Dovetail (Sunnyside)
• 1983: Dedicated to Lee: Lee Konitz Plays the Music of Lars Gullin (Dragon)
• 1983: Art of the Duo (Enja)
• 1984: Wild as Springtime (GFM)
• 1984: Stereokonitz (Soulnote)
• 1986: Quartet: Ideal Scene (Soul Note)
• 1986: Medium Rare (Label Bleu)
• 1987: Quartet: The New York Album (Soul Note)
• 1988: The Space Jazz Trio (with Enrico Pieranunzi): Blew (Philology)
• 1988: Solitudes (Philology)
• 1989: In Rio (MA)
• 1989: Konitz in Denmark (Rightone)
• 1989: Round and Round (Music Masters)
• 1990: Zounds (Soul Note)
• 1990: Once Upon a Line (Musidisc)
• 1991: Lullaby of Birdland (Candid)
• 1992: The Jazzpar All Star Nonet: Leewise (Storyville)
• 1992: Jazz Nocturne (Evidence)
• 1992: Lunasea (Soul Note)
• 1992: From Newport to Nice (Philology)
• 1992: Frank-Lee Speaking (West Wind)
• 1993: Rhapsody (Evidence)
• 1993: So Many Stars (Philology)
• 1993: Rhapsody II (Evidence)
• 1993: Italian Ballads, Volume1 (Philology)
• 1993: Brazilian Rhapsody (BMG: Music Masters)
• 1993: Steps Towards A Dream (Odin Records), with Erling Aksdal Jr., John Pål Inderberg and Bjørn Alterhaug
• 1994: Swiss Kiss (TCB)
• 1995: Haiku (Nabel)
• 1995: Move (Moon)
• 1995: Free with Lee (Philology)
• 1996: Alone Together (Blue Note)
• 1996: Live at the Manhattan Jazz Club (GAM)
• 1996: Guarana (AxolOtl Jazz)
• 1996: Unaccompanied Live in Yokohama (PSF)
• 1996: Strings for Holiday: A Tribute to Billie Holiday (Enja)
• 1996: Lee Konitz Meets Don Friedman (Camerata)
• 1996: It's You (SteepleChase)
• 1997: Twelve Gershwin in Twelve Keys (Philology)
• 1997: Out of Nowhere (SteepleChase)
• 1997: The Frankfurt Concert (West Wind)
• 1997: Dearly Beloved (SteepleChase)
• 1997: Body and Soul (Camerata)
• 1998: Saxophone Dreams (Koch)
• 1998: Inside Cole Porter (Philology)
• 1998: L'age mur (Philology)
• 1998: Tender Lee (For Chet) (Philology)
• 1998: Self Portrait (Philology)
• 1998: Dialogues (Challenge)
• 1999: Dig-It (SteepleChase)
• 1999: Three Guys (Enja)
• 1999: Trio: Another Shade of Blue (Blue Note)
• 2000: Quartet: Sound of Surprise (RCA Victor)
• 2000: Pride (SteepleChase)
• 2001: Trio: Some New Stuff (DIW)
• 2001: Quintet: Parallels (Chesky)
• 2002: At the New Mississippi Jazz Club (Philology)
• 2003: Live-Lee (Milestone)
• 2003: A Day in Florence (Philology)
• 2004: BargaLee (Philology)
• 2004: Sound-Lee (Membran International)
• 2004: One Day with Lee (Capri)
• 2004: Lee Konitz-Ohad Talmor String Project: INVENTIONS (Featuring the Spring String Quartet) (OmniTone)
• 2005: New Nonet (Directed by Ohad Talmor) (OmniTone)
• 2006: Lee Konitz-Ohad Talmor Big Band: Portology (Featuring the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos) (OmniTone)
• 2008: Lee Konitz/Grace Kelly: GRACEfulLEE (Pazz Recordings)
• 2008: Lee Konitz & Minsarah: Deep Lee (Featuring Jeff Denson, Florian weber, Ziv Ravitz) (Enja)
• 2009: Lee Konitz / Dan Tepfer: Duos with Lee (Sunnyside)
• 2009: Lee Konitz New Quartet: Live at the Village Vanguard (Featuring Jeff Denson, Florian weber, Ziv Ravitz) (Enja)
• 2011: Lee Konitz/Brad Mehldau/Charlie Haden/Paul Motian: Live at Birdland (ECM)
• 2014: Lee Konitz/Dan Tepfer/Michael Janisch/Jeff Williams: First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1 (Whirlwind Recordings)

As sideman

With Miles Davis

• The Miles Davis Tuba Band (w/ Lennie Tristano) - Why Do I Love You? Rare Broadcasts 1947-48 (Natasha, 1993)
• Birth of the Cool (Capitol, 1949)
• Miles Ahead (1957)

With Lennie Tristano

• Lennie Tristano and Warne Marsh: Intuition (rec. 1949, Capitol, 1996)
• Crosscurrents (Capitol, 1949 )
• Lennie Tristano (Atlantic, 1956)

With Stan Kenton

• City of Glass (Capitol, 1951)
• New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (Capitol, 1952)
• Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton (Capitol, 1953)
• Sketches on Standards (Capitol, 1953)
• This Modern World (Capitol, 1953)
• Portraits on Standards (Capitol, 1953)
• The Kenton Era (Capitol, 1940-54, )

With Gerry Mulligan

• The Gerry Mulligan Songbook (World Pacific, 1957)

With others

• 1947: Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra: The Uncollected Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra (Hindsight)
• 1951: Ralph Burns and His Orchestra:Free Forms
• 1956: Metronome All-Stars: Metronome All-Stars 1956 (Clef)
• 1957: Gil Evans: Gil Evans & Ten (Prestige)
• 1966: Dave Pike: The Doors of Perception (Vortex - released 1970)
• 1968: Attila Zoller: Zo-Ko-Ma (MPS)
• 1972: Charles Mingus: Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert (Columbia)
• 1974: Dave Brubeck: All The Things We Are (Atlantic)
• 1975: Warne Marsh Quintet: Jazz Exchange (Storyville)
• 1975: Hal Galper: Windows (SteepleChase)
• 1977: Bill Evans: Crosscurrents (Fantasy)
• 1980: Martial Solal: Live at the Berlin Jazz Days (MPS)
• 1983: Martial Solal: Star Eyes, Hamburg 1983 (HatOLOGY)
• 1984: Max Roach: It's Christmas Again (Soul Note)
• 1990: Frank Wunsch Quartet: S'Nice (Nabel)
• 1991: Lars Sjosten Quartet: Friends (Dragon)
• 1993: Renato Sellani: Speakin' Lowly, Volume 1 (Philology)
• 1994: Orchestra Il Suono Improvviso: A Venezia (Philology)
• 1995: Umberto Petrin: Breaths and Whispers (Homage to Alexander Scriabin) (Philology)
• 1995: John Pl Indreberg: Step Towards a Dream (Odin)
• 1995: Don Friedman with Attila Zoller: Thingin' (HatOLOGY)
• 1997: Kenny Wheeler: Angel Song (ECM)
• 1998: Gerry Mulligan All-Star Tribute Band: Thank You, Gerry! (Arkadia Jazz)
• 2000: The Axis Quartet: Play French Impressionist Music from the Turn of the Twentieth Century (Palmetto)
• 2000: Rich Perry: RichLee! (SteepleChase)
• 2001: Franco D'Andrea: Inside Rodgers (Philology)
• 2001: Renato Sellani: Minority, Volume 2: All the Way (The Soft Ways) (Philology)
• 2002: Matt Wilson: Gong with Wind Suite (Steeplechase)
• 2002: Irio de Paula: Duas contas (Philology)
• 2002: Barbara Casini: Outra vez (Philology)
• 2003: Stefano Bollani: Suite for Paolo (Philology)
• 2003: Kenny Werner: Unleemited (Owl)
• 2006: Francois Théberge: Soliloque (Effendi)
• 2007: Riccardo Arrighini: The Soprano Sax Album: Standards (Philology)
• 2007: Brian Dickenson: The Glenn Gould Session (Philology)
• 2009: Jakob Bro: Balladeering (Loveland)
• 2009: Dan Tepfer: Duos with Lee (Sunnyside Records)
• 2011: Jakob Bro: Time (Loveland)
• 2011: Marcel·lí Bayer: Nonitz Featuring Lee Konitz (Quadrant)
• 2013: Jakob Bro: December Song (Loveland)

Television appearances

• SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions (2004)
• Weightless - a recording session with Jakob Bro (2009)

Public television series in the late 50"s with Warne Marsh,Billy Taylor, Bill Evans,Mundell Lowe and others.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]