Lee Konitz - Stereokonitz (1968) [2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000]

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. Lee Konitz has had many opportunities to record with European artists over the decades, but this session is a bit unusual, in that all the compositions are by bassist Giovanni Tommaso and Konitz doesn't stick strictly to alto saxophone. Joining them are pianist Franco D'Andrea (with whom Konitz worked on a number of Philology CDs decades later), trumpeter Enrico Rava and drummer Gegé Munari.

Tommaso's charts delve into bop and cool, with Konitz primarily playing the Varitone (a form of electronic saxophone that was experimented with briefly and abandoned by reed players in the late '60s), though he does play some alto sax and also makes a rare appearance on flute (doubling on it in "Take Seven"). While the music from this 1968 session is enjoyable, even though the sound quality of the Varitone pales when compared to a regular saxophone, this remains one of Lee Konitz's more obscure recordings from the '60s, even if this European LP was finally reissued on CD (again, only in Europe) three decades later.


Tracks:

1. A Minor Blues
2. Five, Four And Three
3. Komonia
4. Midnight Mood
5. Terre Lontane
6. Take Seven
7. Giovanni D'Oggi
8. Tune Down

Personnel:

Lee Konitz - alto sax, varitone, flute
Enrico Rava - trumpet
Franco D'Andrea - piano
Giovanni Tommaso - bass
Gege Munari - drums