Lee Konitz

Saxophonist, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A pupil of Lennie Tristano, he became part of the avant-garde school of ‘cool jazz’ during the 1950s, along with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, and Jimmy Giuffre. In the latter part of the decade he produced a series of acclaimed albums, beginning with Inside Hi-Fi (1956), later recordings including Lone-Lee (1974) and Art of the Duo (1983).

Lee Konitz (born October 13, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz composer and saxophone player.

Konitz is sometimes regarded as the preeminent cool jazz saxophonist, because he performed and recorded with Claude Thornhill, Lennie Tristano (both often cited as important cool jazz proponents of the mid 1940s), and with Miles Davis' on his epochal Birth of the Cool, which gave the form its name.

Konitz has also been repeatedly noted as one of the few jazz saxophonists of the late 1940s and 1950s who did not seem imitative of the massively influential Charlie Parker.

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.

In 1967, Konitz recorded The Lee Konitz Duets, a series of duets with various musicians.

Konitz has been quite prolific, recording dozens of albums as a band leader.