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https://www.billboard.com/music/lee-konitz" rel="nofollow - Lee Konitz , the celebrated jazz saxophonist and last surviving performer in https://www.billboard.com/music/miles-davis" rel="nofollow - Miles Davis ’ “Birth of the Cool” sessions, died Wednesday (April 15) due to complications with COVID-19. He was 92.
Born 1927 in Chicago, Konitz studied clarinet early on, then switched to alto, an instrument he mastered like no other.
Konitz enjoyed stints with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra and Stan
Kenton’s Orchestra, worked with pianist Lennie Tristano, Stan Kenton,
Warne Marsh, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, and Bill Evans. And he played
with Davis’ nonet on their “Birth of the Cool” Capitol recordings, a
landmark in post-bebop jazz.
The “cool-toned” artist, reads his Blue Note biog, “always had a
strong musical curiosity that has led him to consistently take chances
and stretch himself, usually quite successfully.”
During his seven-decade career, he recorded for such labels as
Atlantic, Prestige, Polydor and Verve. According to his official
biography, Konitz was one of the last active musicians to have played
all three ever Birdland clubs in New York City.
The jazz great almost turned his back on music in the early 1960s,
but returned with a hunger to push the boundaries. His recordings were
as prolific as they were varied, ranging in styles from an early
unaccompanied saxophone solo album, to post-bop, free improvisations and
a string of innovative duets. In 1989, his solo album Lee Konitz In Rio went to No. 22 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Among the many trophies he received for his talents, Lee snagged the
NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2009, was named "Alto Saxophonist of the Year"
by Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll in 2010 and in 2013 he was awarded
the "German Jazz Prize". Konitz was the subject of a biography, written
by Andy Hamilton and published in 2007.
Konitz’ son Josh Konitz https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/15/835634362/lee-konitz-prolific-and-influential-jazz-saxophonist-has-died-at-92" rel="nofollow - confirmed to NPR that the cause of death was pneumonia related to COVID-19.
from www.billboard.com