Lee Konitz & Friends
A Tribute to Lee Konitz

The American Jazz Institute Big Band
Special guests:
Alan Broadbent, Bob Enevoldsen, Gary Foster,
Joe LaBarbera, Jack Montrose, Putter Smith

Monday, October 15, 6:45pm • Admission Free
Marian Minor Cook Athenaeum, CMC campus, Claremont

Lee Konitz is the foremost saxophonist in the Cool style of jazz, and one of the very few alto players of his generation to escape the dominating influence of Charlie Parker and create a completely personal, recognizable sound and style on the instrument.

Konitz embarked on his career in earnest in 1947 when he joined Claude Thornhill's influential orchestra, at that time the source of much of the talent that shaped Cool Jazz in New York. It was there that he established associations with Miles Davis and Lennie Tristano. He went on to perform and record with both. Konitz was a leading player in the famous Miles Davis Nonet performances and recordings of 1948-50. But it was under the guidance and tutelage of Tristano that he developed his unique style, recognizable for its smooth precision and flowing lines. Following an early-50s stint with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Konitz again performed with Tristano and on into the early 60s with his own small groups. The mid-60s saw the ever-adventuresome Konitz experimenting with avant-garde jazz before returning to his original style. The 70s were notable for a series of important recordings with Warne Marsh, the founding of his own nonet, and more experimenting that has successfully added elements of blues and bop to his music.

During the past two decades -- actively recording in duet and numerous small group environments and performing in clubs and festivals worldwide -- the Konitz style has matured into one of the most identifiable sounds in all of jazz.

"Lee Konitz & Friends" is a presentation of AJI and the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies. In this rare West Coast appearance, legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz joins the AJI Big Band and six distinguished friends for an evening celebrating his truly remarkable seven-decade career.