May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Lee Konitz performs at the Blue Note in New York City on Oct. 9, 2017.
(Photo: Frank Eppler)Chicago-born alto saxophonist Lee Konitz passed away April 15 at the age of 92. WBGO confirmed his death, adding that “the cause was pneumonia, related to COVID-19.”
A recipient of an NEA Jazz Masters fellowship, Konitz was revered for his work alongside Miles Davis on 1949 and 1950 recordings that eventually were compiled into Birth Of The Cool.
Konitz would go on to record dozens of albums during a career that spanned nine decades and worked with everyone from Kenny Burrell and Art Farmer to Ethan Iverson and Dan Tepfer. Recorded around the same time as the sessions with Davis, Subconscious-Lee—an early leader date that also counted pianist Lennie Tristano—exhibited a bop influence, even as the saxophonist helped to define the “cool” sound that would rise to prominence on the West Coast. The album, too, offered a snapshot of Konitz’s playfulness and wit. In addition to the title track, there was, of course, “Ice Cream Konitz.”
Konitz retained an essential creative spirit in the studio over the years, issuing Old Songs New (Sunnyside) with arranger Ohad Talmor in November 2019.
“The bandleader luxuriates in the lush, slow to medium-tempo interpretations that evoke the mid-century radio orchestras of his youth on numbers like ‘Goodbye’ and ‘I Cover The Waterfront,’” Alex W. Rodríguez wrote about the album in the February 2020 edition of DownBeat. “It feels as if the 92-year-old saxophonist—born not too many years after Charlie Parker—is at work evoking the ghost of Charlie Parker With Strings.”
In a 2017 interview with DownBeat, Konitz discussed a concept that he’s closely associated with, the contrafact (a musical work based on an earlier composition): “That’s a technique I just picked up along the way from whoever invented it, whether it was Bird or whoever. I thought it was a legitimate addition to the vocabulary. I consider it equivalent in some way to adding homemade lyrics to a melody that you could deliver the standard changes on. But then you change them somehow. And that’s kind of how I approach that. But I didn’t have that particular phrase for the action—contrafact.” DB
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Cécile McLorin Salvant busts out Jelly Roll Morton’s “The Murder Ballad” at Big Ears, here with pianist Sullivan Fortner.
Apr 7, 2026 1:21 PM
There’s pluralism, then there’s PLURALISM! — and then there’s Big Ears. Thurston Moore, who participated in…
“We thought it’s important that Ronin has a new statement,” said Nik Bärtsch of his band’s latest album, Spin. “The sound is differently produced, so it reflects more of who we are.”
Apr 21, 2026 10:00 AM
Nik Bärtsch cuts an imposing figure on stage. He’s unmistakable with his soul patch, shaven head and black attire.…
Dave King (left) and Reid Anderson offer insights into why The Bad Plus’ chemistry was cool, the accomplishments many and its longevity so fruitful.
May 12, 2026 11:42 AM
The scene still sticks with me. I had heard the oddball name of this new group being dropped around town, and…
Ava Preston, a 12-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner, is currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz voice at Juilliard.
May 12, 2026 10:00 AM
Ava Preston, from Cleveland, Ohio, was named the winner of the ninth annual Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition on…
