Sunday, July 11, 2010

Jimmy Heath & Lee Konitz

No, not together.  Except in so far as I acquired two CD's last week.  Jimmy Heath is a tenor sax player.  His first album as leader was The Thumper, and it is thumpin' good bop.  If you are in the mood for straight ahead jazz boogie, this would be it.  Nat Adderley c, Curtis Fuller trb, Wynton Kelly p, Paul Chambers b, and Albert Heath d, play behind Jimmy.  Here is a sample:
Jimmy Heath/Two Tees/The Thumper
As for Konitz, I finally found Another Shade of Blue,  with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden.  It is a mostly live recording, and a companion to one of my favorite Konitz records Alone Together.  If you haven't got the latter, by all means pony up.  It is a superb horn, piano, bass trio recording.  You don't want to live without their interpretation of Round Midnight. The live album doesn't quite match up, but if you have the one you will want the other.  Konitz's sound is unique.  It's dry, to be sure, but that just pulls the passion out of the listener.  Here is a sample:
Lee Konitz/Everything Happens to Me/Another Shade of Blue
 Well, there's some straight ahead jazz for you. 

3 comments:

  1. Dear Ken,

    Love that track from Another Shade of Blue. This is the jazz that I love. Lee Konitz played at the North Sea Jazz festival yesterday, together with Christian Scott, Clifton Anderson (Sonny Rollins' nephew) and the Metropole Orchestra. I'm not sure if you can watch this video outside of the Netherlands, but it's worth a try:
    http://player.omroep.nl/?aflid=11244468
    It may take a while for the video to load.

    Konitz starts playing around at 25:00.

    André

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  2. Thanks, André. That track is lovely. And thanks for the clip. It did load, and I am listening right now. Unfortunately, it seems to be in segments, so you can't just wait for the whole thing to load. But what I am hearing is excellent.

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  3. Glad you're liking it. The complete line-up for the concert (beside the members of the orchestra) is: Vince Mendoza (conductor); Lee Konitz, David Binney (alto sax); Eric Alexander, Benny Golson, Chris Potter (tenor sax); Michael Attias (baritone sax); Clifton Anderson (trombone); Christian Scott (trumpet); Jason Moran (piano). Killer line-up if you ask me.

    André

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