Lee Konitz

中音薩克斯手Lee Konitz（生于1927年）的旋律風格近似Tristano，其器樂演奏技巧也如Tristano一般高超。 Lee Konitz的音色有別于其前輩樂手Benny Carter或Johnny Hodges的華麗光鮮，亦不同于其同輩Charlie Parker的悲喜交織，更多讓人憶起Lester Young的沖淡、輕盈、顫音悠緩的演奏風格。 　　有一點不得不提，在那個年輕中音薩克司手幾乎人人都在模仿Charlie Parker的音色以至節(jié)奏旋律觀念的年代，Lee Konitz是為數(shù)不多堅持繼承和發(fā)展Tristano開辟的另一現(xiàn)代爵士風格的樂手之一。Charlie Parker的風格對其影響甚微，Lee Konitz的演奏特色源自于Tristano的鋼琴風格。換句話說，Tristano與同時期波普鋼琴手們的演奏風格迥然不同。首先，他不以波普的方式“搖擺”，波普風格的搖擺多運用“拖拍”的手法，而Tristano傾向于“搶拍”，趕在節(jié)奏之前，并且與Parker和Gillespie相比，較少運用切分節(jié)奏；其次，Tristano的節(jié)奏沒有波普那樣變化多樣；再次，其即興旋律的構成以“長串長串不間歇的八分音符”為特色，因此，他音樂中的搖擺感比波普聽上去更為“緊”（我們可以對照聽一下SCCJ收錄的Tristano作品“Crosscurrent”以及SCCJ修訂版中收錄的其作品“Subconscious Lee”）。 　　上世紀五十年代期間，Lee Konitz影響了一批中音薩克司手。盡管他長期生活在紐約，但其影響最大的地域當屬加州。西海岸中音薩克司手Bud Shank和Lennie Niehaus兼收并蓄了Konitz和Parker的風格，自成一系；Art Pepper融合了Konitz、次中音薩克司手Zoot Sims、Parker三家所長將西海岸中音薩克司風格發(fā)揮到極至。 　　上世紀五十年代中期，尤其是1954年之后，Konitz的演奏風格逐漸開始起變化，而且持續(xù)貫穿整個七十年代。他原前如Tristano般飽滿緊實的旋律開始松散起來，音色與速度方面的個人特色也消失了；在演奏中經(jīng)常運用休止，這使得原本就復雜的節(jié)奏更為多樣；時不時，他的演奏還會有些布魯斯的味道。 　　除了與Tristano的合作錄音，Konitz最出色的演奏可以在1949-1950年Miles Davis的《Birth of the Cool》系列錄音、1953年Lee Konitz-Gerry Mulligan-Chet Baker的合作唱片《Konitz Meets Mulligan》以及1947年和Claude Thornhill合作的唱片中找到。
by Scott Yanow
One of the most individual of all altoists (and one of the few in the 1950s who did not sound like a cousin of Charlie Parker), the cool-toned Lee Konitz has always had a strong musical curiosity that has led him to consistently take chances and stretch himself, usually quite successfully. Early on he studied clarinet, switched to alto, and played with Jerry Wald. Konitz gained some attention for his solos with Claude Thornhills Orchestra (1947). He began studying with Lennie Tristano, who had a big influence on his conception and approach to improvising. Konitz was with Miles Daviss Birth of the Cool Nonet during their one gig and their Capitol recordings (1948-1950) and recorded with Lennie Tristanos innovative sextet (1949), including the first two free improvisations ever documented. Konitz blended very well with Warne Marshs tenor (their unisons on Wow are miraculous) and would have several reunions with both Tristano and Marsh through the years, but he was also interested in finding his own way; by the early 50s he started breaking away from the Tristano school. Konitz toured Scandinavia (1951), where his cool sound was influential, and he fit in surprisingly well with Stan Kentons Orchestra (1952-1954), being featured on many charts by Bill Holman and Bill Russo. Konitz was primarily a leader from that point on. He almost retired from music in the early 60s but re-emerged a few years later. His recordings have ranged from cool bop to thoughtful free improvisations, and his Milestone set of Duets (1967) is a classic. In the late 70s Konitz led a notable nonet and in 1992 he won the prestigious Jazzpar Prize. He kept a busy release schedule throughout the 90s and dabbled in the world of classical with 2000s French Impressionist Music from the Turn of the Twentieth Century. The Mark Masters Ensemble joined him for 2004s One Day with Lee. And in 2007 he recorded Portology with the Ohad Talmor Big Band. He has recorded on soprano and tenor but has mostly stuck to his distinctive alto.Konitz has led consistently stimulating sessions for many labels, including Prestige, Dragon, Pacific Jazz, Vogue, Storyville, Atlantic, Verve, Wave, Milestone, MPS, Polydor, Bellaphon, SteepleChase, Sonet, Groove Merchant, Roulette, Progressive, Choice, IAI, Chiaroscuro, Circle, Black Lion, Soul Note, Storyville, Evidence, and Philogy.