Song:All The Things You Are
Album:Konitz Meets Mulligan
Most jazz fans will be familiar with baritone sax legend Gerry Mulligan and his part in the creation of Cool Jazz. But alto sax player Lee Konitz was right there with him and has had a long distinguished career in jazz. He was born Oct. 13, 1927 in Chicago. He started out playing clarinet as a child and as a young Jewish boy he was inspired to become a jazz musician by Benny Goodman. He bagan his music career in 1945 with Teddy Powell. But the key event in Konitz' career was when he met pianist Lennie Tristano in 1947. Tristano is considered one of the originators of Cool Jazz. Konitz met Gerry Mulligan while working for Claude Thornhill in 1947. This led to Konitz & Mulligan being part of the landmark Miles Davis recording Birth Of The Cool in 1950. Konitz made his recording debut as a leader in 1950 and then he worked for Stan Kenton. Konitz Meets Mulligan was recorded for Pacific Jazz in 1953. It's Konitz playing with Mulligan's quartet including Chet Baker on trumpet, Joe Mondragon on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. Blue Note released this on CD in 1988 with a bonus alternate take. The two worked together several times over the years. Lee Konitz currently records for the Italian Philology label and has released several CDs over the last couple of years. Lee Konitz is one of those musicians you might overlook but he is worth checking out. Here's Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer & Rob McConnell performing Walking Shoes in Europe.
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