It is to the delight of jazz fans that alto veteran Lee Konitz has remained such a relevant if not crucial player well into his 70s. His playing in the late 1990s is among the most probing of his career: witness Another Shade of Blue and Alone Together, his two collaborations with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden. This reissue takes us back to a Pittsburgh date in February of 1957 and catches Konitz at a different stage of development, one in which he's more concerned with fluent exposition than adventurous searching. And surely, there were few altoists more fluent and articulate than Konitz, who never seems at a loss for the proper notes and is more expressive here than his "cool" label would indicate. Guitarist Billy Bauer's sterling and inventive accompaniment proves to be one of the quintet's strongest assets. Oddly, Konitz chose to edit a number of these cuts in order to weed out some of the lesser moments, thereby killing a bit of the spontaneity and slightly marring an otherwise enjoyable set. --Marc Greilsamer
The Real Lee Konitz,Lee Konitz,32. Jazz Records,Bop,Cool,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop
Jazz Music:
- The Right Time
- This Then, Was Paris
- Time Again: Brubeck Revisited, Vol. 2
- To Be Sure
- Togethering
- We Got Robbed: Live in New Orleans [Import]
- 1942-1945
- A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry [Original recording remastered]
- Action: The Original Debut Recordings 1964 & 1967
- All in Good Time
Jazz Music
Hard to Be a Rock'n Roller in Kiev [Import]
Carl Nielsen: Symphony No4 & Symphony No5
Der Wind Hat Mir Ein Lied Erzahlt [Import]
Blue Duke [Import] [Original recording remastered]