Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz musician who played the alto saxophone and wrote music.

He performed in many different types of jazz, such as bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz was part of the cool jazz movement in the 1940s and 1950s. He worked with musician Miles Davis during the Birth of the Cool sessions and also played with pianist Lennie Tristano. During this time, Konitz was one of the few alto saxophonists who kept a unique style, even though many musicians were influenced by Charlie Parker. Like other students of Lennie Tristano, Konitz played long, musical phrases with rhythms that used unusual accents or groupings of notes that suggested different time signatures. Other saxophonists, such as Paul Desmond and Art Pepper, were influenced by Konitz’s playing.

He died during the COVID-19 pandemic from complications caused by the disease.

Biography

Lee Konitz was born in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Abraham Konitz (1897–1964) and Anna Getlin (1900–1973), Jewish immigrants from Europe. Lee had two older brothers, Sol (1919–1997) and Herman (later known as Herman Kaye; 1921–2005).

Lee’s father was born in Brody, Austria-Hungary (now part of Ukraine), and ran a laundry business. The family lived in the back of the store. Lee’s mother was born in the Pinsk District (now part of Belarus). Lee attended Hebrew school briefly and sometimes went to synagogue. His family was not very religious but celebrated Jewish holidays and followed some dietary rules. Lee felt mixed about Jewish traditions and disliked the term "Gentile." Neither of his parents played music, but they supported his interest in music.

At age 11, Lee received his first clarinet after being inspired by musician Benny Goodman. He studied classical music with Lou Honig, who also taught Johnny Griffin and Eddie Harris. A year later, Lee switched to the tenor saxophone after being influenced by Lester Young. Later, he moved to the alto saxophone and studied with Santy Runyon. His early musical influences included big band musicians like Johnny Hodges, Roy Eldridge, Willie Smith, and Scoops Carry. He admired Louis Armstrong and was deeply influenced by Benny Carter’s solo on the song "I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me."

Lee began his professional career in 1945 with the Teddy Powell band, replacing Charlie Ventura. The band ended a month later. Between 1945 and 1947, Lee worked occasionally with Jerry Wald. In 1946, he met pianist Lennie Tristano, and they performed together in a small bar. His next major work was with Claude Thornhill in 1947, with Gil Evans arranging and Gerry Mulligan composing.

Lee joined a group with Miles Davis in 1948 and again in 1949. He recorded with the band in 1949 and 1950, and those tracks were later released on the album Birth of the Cool (Capitol, 1957). Davis wrote in his autobiography that some Black musicians were upset about hiring Lee, saying, "If a guy could play as well as Lee Konitz, I would hire him every time, not because of his skin color."

Lee considered the group to belong to Gerry Mulligan. His first album as a leader was released in 1949, titled Subconscious-Lee (Prestige, 1955). He turned down an offer to work with Benny Goodman in 1949, a decision he later regretted. Charlie Parker helped Lee during the birth of his child in Seattle, Washington, while Lee was in New York City. The two were close friends, not rivals as some critics claimed.

In the early 1950s, Lee played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and continued recording as a leader. In 1961, he recorded Motion for Verve with Elvin Jones on drums and Sonny Dallas on bass. This session, which included only standard songs, highlighted Lee’s unique style.

In 1967, Lee recorded The Lee Konitz Duets for Milestone, featuring unusual combinations like saxophone and trombone or two saxophones. The recordings included music from different eras of jazz, from Louis Armstrong’s "Struttin’ with Some Barbecue" to free improvisation duets with musicians like Ray Nance and Jim Hall.

Lee contributed to the film score for Desperate Characters (1971). In 1981, he performed at the Woodstock Jazz Festival, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Creative Music Studio.

Lee worked with many musicians, including Warne Marsh, Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Attila Zoller, Gerry Mulligan, and Elvin Jones. He recorded trio sessions with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden, released by Blue Note, and a live album at Birdland in 2009, released by ECM in 2011, with drummer Paul Motian. As he grew older, Lee explored more experimental styles, including free jazz and avant-garde jazz. He collaborated with younger musicians like saxophonist/composer Ohad Talmor, creating six albums featuring new compositions arranged by Talmor. Lee played on Elvis Costello’s song "Someone Took the Words Away" in 2003, and his album with saxophonist/vocalist Grace Kelly received 4 1/2 stars from Michael Jackson in Down Beat magazine.

Lee had heart surgery and canceled a performance in Melbourne, Australia, in 2011 due to illness. In August 2012, Lee performed at the Blue Note club in New York City with Bill Frisell, Gary Peacock, and Joey Baron as part of the group Enfants Terribles. Days after his 87th birthday in 2014, Lee played three nights at Cafe Stritch in San Jose, California, with the Jeff Denson Trio, improvising on classic songs. In 2018, Lee released the album Decade (Verve Records) to celebrate his 90th birthday and 10 years of collaboration with pianist Dan Tepfer.

Personal life

Konitz was married three times. His first wife was Ruth Hamalainen. Before marrying Konitz, Ruth was a writer. She co-wrote an article about Lennie Tristano with Barry Ulanov, which was published in the November 1946 issue of Metronome. Konitz and Ruth had five children: Josh, Paul, Rebecca, Stephanie, and Karen. Karen inspired his 1956 song "Kary's Trance." Rebecca inspired the 1950 improvisation "Rebecca" and the 1951 original "Hi, Beck." Stephanie inspired a ballad called "Stephanie" from 1958. Konitz and Ruth later divorced. His second wife was Tavia Maria Mladinich (1931–1991), who died while they were married. A song named for her appeared on his 1977 album Pyramid. His third wife was Gundula. They divorced but remained close friends. Konitz wrote a ballad for her called "Gundula," which he first recorded on the 1999 album Pride. Konitz died at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on April 15, 2020, due to pneumonia caused by COVID-19 during the pandemic in New York City.

Television appearances

• SOLOS: The Jazz Sessions, released in 2004
• Weightless, a recording session with musician Jakob Bro, from 2009
• A public television series in the late 1950s featuring Warne Marsh, Billy Taylor, Bill Evans, Mundell Lowe, and other musicians