Lee Konitz Nonet

[Durium]

LEE KONITZ NONET

Lee Konitz album by his succcesfull nonet group, although over the hill at these recordings. Very entertaining arrangements and ensemble work.

Live At Laren

Keep swinging

Durium

[JohnS]

Over The Hill

Very nice records - great little band.

[sidewinder]

I was wondering about that 'over the hill' bit too.

Was recently spinning 'Yes, Yes Nonet' on Steeplechase. An excellent record by an under-rated band (although the LPs got good reviews at the time they came out). There's one on Chiaroscuro that I seem to recall too.

[Big Beat Steve]

Hey, gents, did it ever occur to you that English is not the mother language of everybody on this board?

I'd venture a guess Durium meant to say Lee was "a bit past his zenith" (past his prime) by that time. In fact, reading the Dutch version I am pretty sure that's what it is.

Debate open now regarding the relative merits of this latter-day opus of Mr Cool.

[paul secor]

"over the hill"/"a bit past his zenith" - However it's said - I still have a problem with it.

[mikeweil]

I always found the Nonet albums were among the nicest things Konitz ever did and surely deserve a place in the wake of the legendary Miles Davis Capitol band of which Konitz was a part.

I think there were four LPs:

The Lee Konitz Nonet - Roulette (1976)

The Lee Konitz Nonet - Chiaroscuro (1977)

Live At Laren - Soul Note (1979)

Yes, Yes Nonet - SteepleChase (1979)

Just found out the Laren recording is missing in my collection!

The first two are pretty are, aren't they? To my knowledge only the SteepleChase was ever issued on CD. They would make a nice Mosaic Select ...

Edited June 18, 2008 by mikeweil

[Nate Dorward]

He also revived the Nonet for Palmetto recently. Worth hearing.

[HolyStitt]

I think there were four LPs:

The Lee Konitz Nonet - Roulette (1976)

The Lee Konitz Nonet - Chiaroscuro (1977)

Live At Laren - Soul Note (1979)

Yes, Yes Nonet - SteepleChase (1979)

The first two are pretty are, aren't they? To my knowledge only the SteepleChase was ever issued on CD. They would make a nice Mosaic Select ...

I do not know the CD status of the Roulette but I have the other 3 on compact disc.

I think they would make a great Select but the problem is I think there would be too many companies to work with for one set.

[Larry Kart]

He also revived the Nonet for Palmetto recently. Worth hearing.

I'm close to a Konitz completist but find that one almost unlistenable -- not for Lee himself but in part for the ugly recording, in part for Ohad Talmor's sour arrangements, and in part for the rest of the band (that trombonist, don't recall his name, should be severely chastised, and Matt Wilson is leaden as usual).

BTW, the idea that Konitz was a bit past his peak when "Live at Laren" was recorded strikes me as bizarre. I can find great Lee from every one of the seven decades he's been playing, certainly including the present one.

[Hot Ptah]

I am glad to hear you say that, Larry. I enjoy Konitz's playing very much, but have never liked that album. I agree completely that Konitz is still playing very well. One of the best jazz concerts I have seen in the past five years was Konitz in a quartet with Bill Frisell about three years ago.

Edited June 18, 2008 by Hot Ptah

[Nate Dorward]

Hm, interesting. I guess I should say that "worth hearing" wasn't meant to be a strong commendation, though I don't remember it as nearly THAT bad! Of the two simultaneous Palmetto releases, though, the one I really liked was the string quartet disc.