RIP: Lee Konitz

The death toll continues to increase amongst artists due to Corona virus and another great jazzman passed away due its complications. Alto sax player Lee Konitz, one of the pioneers of cool jazz, died yesterday. He was 92...

Konitz in the middle, with Miles Davis & Gerry Mulligan

He 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 one of relatively few alto saxophonists of this era to retain a distinctive style, when Charlie Parker exerted a massive influence.

Here is a live recording of Lee Konitz (Denmark 1965 feat. Bill Evans, Alan Dawson and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen).

RIP great master...