This way of life I have chosen to follow is filled with many pleasant situations - I travel, acknowledging an invitation, to various places around the world, and frequently play with musicians for the first time in front of an audience, and more often than not, it works - amazing!

Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer.

Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer.

This breathtaking album features Costello’s inimitable baritone fronting a spectacular lineup that includes a string quartet, a horn nonet, and a slew of legendary jazz musicians, including Peter Erskine and Lee Konitz. Intimate, jazzy and romantic, this is a truly spectacular and ambitious work by one of popular music’s greatest songwriters. "North" is an intimate album of ballads partially inspired by his relationship with Diana Krall.

This unusual album teams together the altos of Lee Konitz, Pony Poindexter, Phil Woods and Leo Wright (along with pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen) on a variety of challenging material. There are four pieces for the full septet (including one that pays tribute to both Bach and Bird), a pair of quintet performances and a ballad medley that ends in a complete fiasco (it has to be heard to be believed). Despite the latter, everyone fares well on this summit meeting.

Lee Konitz had been on tour in Japan when he went into the studio with the Laurent de Wilde trio and recorded this album. He's joined on three numbers by Keiko Lee, a smokey Japanese vocalist. The result is somewhat out of the ordinary. There are three Konitz compositions including a reworking of "Thingin'". The rest are standards with an excellent version of Miles Davis "Solar" and Theolonius Monk's "Ruby my dear".

Lee Konitz has so frequently avoided "ordinary" jazz situations that it's actually a rare treat to hear him do an album like this, with a roster of jazz standards performed by a straightahead American rhythm section–the great Kenny Barron on piano, James Genus on bass & Kenny Washington on drums.

One of the most individual of all altoists (and one of the few in the 1950s who did not sound like a cousin of Charlie Parker), the cool-toned Lee Konitz has always had a strong musical curiosity, leading him to consistently take chances and stretch himself. This New York session, with Ted Brown, holds some pleasant surprises.

This release focuses primarily on Brazilian standards performed by the Konitz sextet, except for the Brazilian-flavored "Lunasea", written by Peggy Stern, which features her high school choir. "Berimbau" is swinging and percussive, while the well-known "Insensatez" takes many unexpected turns. "Triste" is also a familiar theme played with relish. Vocalist Adela Dalto makes a strong impression with her guest spot on "A Felicidade". Konitz's duet with the phenomenal acoustic guitarist Romero Lubambo on "Manha De Carnaval" is breathtaking.

Lee Konitz has long been a versatile jazz musician, adaptable to many different styles. This Brazilian-flavored session is one of two that the alto saxophonist recorded during the mid-'90s for Venus; his session partners include trumpeter Tom Harrell, guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianist David Kikoski, bassist David Fink, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, and percussionist Waltinho Anastácio.

"Birth Of The Cool" is a must-have compilation album featuring three landmark Davis sessions from 1949 to 1950. Showcasing compelling and unique instrumentation, Davis is joined by acclaimed musicians including Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Al Haig, Al McKibbon, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, Kenny Hagood, Bill Barber, J.J. Johnson and more. The album is included on Guardian’s “50 Great Moments in Jazz”. This is a definitive release in the history of cool jazz.

This album of duos stands out as one of a kind; recorded during a phase in which he began to consistently incorporate a freer musical language into his playing, and set within a constellation of diverse duo formations, there emerges an exciting portrait of the central figure in German jazz: Albert Mangelsdorff. "His Friends" here are: Don Cherry, Elvin Jones, Karl Berger, Attila Zoller, Wolfgang Dauner, and Lee Konitz.

Lee Konitz is an American composer and alto saxophonist. He has performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz movement of the 1940s and 1950s includes participation in Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool sessions and his work with pianist Lennie Tristano. He was notable during this era as one of relatively few alto saxophonists to retain a distinctive style when Charlie Parker exerted a massive influence. Like other students of Tristano, Konitz was noted for improvising 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. Other saxophonists were strongly influenced by Konitz, notably Paul Desmond and Art Pepper.

Lee Konitz's Chesky Records debut, now available in this Multi-Channel SACD format, demonstrates in full surround sound that Konitz continues to maintain his role as a true icon and legend of innovation within the Jazz community. Lee proves once again his unique improvisational ability by infusing his alto sax lines into the solid framework constructed by his quintet. This recording marks the manifestation of Lee's desire to represent the "possibilities to be creative" in the organic, improvisational nature of Jazz by combining it with the parallel basis of Chesky's recording philosophy - recreating a live, spontaneous event with the greatest accuracy possible, now dramatically improved via the SACD format.

This release sees a selection of the 1975 recordings made in Copenhagen by legendary alto sax player Lee Konitz and tenor sax player Warne Marsh reissued in high-resolution digital quality. Both students of Lennie Tristano, these cool jazz kings weave magical, meandering melodic lines that delighted the fans who brought Konitz and Marsh to Denmark and undoubtedly continue to entrance listeners today. Clearly, Konitz & Marsh had by this stage of their respective careers taken their interest in music to a point which for the time at least was scarce amongst jazz musicians.