Lee Konitz New Quartet the ultimate in satisfaction
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Seattle Gay News
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posted Friday, October 29, 2010 - Volume 38 Issue 44 Lee Konitz New Quartet the ultimate in satisfactionby E. Joyce Glasgow - SGN A&E Writer Lee Konitz New Quartet October 5 Triple Door Legendary jazz alto saxophonist/composer Lee Konitz brought his New Quartet to Seattle for one show on October 5 at the Triple Door as part of the 2010 Earshot Jazz Festival. Konitz, who turned 83 on October 13, was joined by young musicians Florian Weber (piano), Jeff Denson (bass), and Ziv Ravitz (drums), the three of whom have been playing together as the trio Minsarah ('prism' in Hebrew) since 2000, when they met during their studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. For the serious and discerning jazz listener, this concert was the ultimate in satisfaction. The four musicians were intense and concentrated in listening to each other, leaving a lot of space for natural and organically flowing musical exploration and took familiar jazz standards and deconstructed and reconstructed them with integrity and musical intelligence, intuitively creating something new and refreshing while maintaining the melodic structures of the original tunes. It sounded like they were rearranging puzzle pieces of compositions into brand new puzzles still recognizable, but reborn. Each of the four democratically took turns starting out tunes, allowing for the individuals personality and musical expression to set a tone and mood for each particular piece. Konitz, whose alto sax sound is wise, reedy, husky, and evocative, took the first turn, starting out the evening with the classic jazz tune Solar. Pianist Weber began the second piece abstractly alone at the piano. This metamorphosised easily into What Is This Thing Called Love, which was thoughtful and reflective and both stimulating and relaxing. The musicians went into abstraction again, which led into the great ballad Body and Soul. It was an enjoyable journey, just floating along with the musicians and their musical road map. Bassist Denson led the next piece, drifting into Alone Together. Konitz sang a short, wordless vocal on this, and the instruments flowed in and out, like a dream, and then grew more raucous, robust, and swinging. Drummer Ravitz led the fourth tune, Stella by Starlight, starting with just the duo of piano and drums, emphasizing the cymbals. The sound was spare, pure, and uncluttered, and the groups artistic creation had room to move and breathe. The song Whats New? followed, dark, deep, and moody. The quartet played a wonderfully original version of the often-heard Cherokee as an encore and received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the concert. The whole concert was played acoustically, which I was incredibly grateful for and allowed the music to be heard in its full integrity, without amplification. The atmosphere created was intimate and concentrated as the whole audience was seated very close to the stage. You could hear a pin drop as the audience was engaged in conscientious listening, along with the musicians, allowing for a complete sense of participation by all in the immediate experience of the evening. In a world where everything is amplified and we are daily bombarded by noise and distraction and competition to be heard over other loud noises, this acoustic concert was an oasis in a desert of chaos and a very special event. This was one of the best jazz concerts Ive heard in a long time. For more information about Lee Konitz New Quartet, visit www.myspace.com/leekonitzquartet. For more information about upcoming Earshot Jazz events, including the continuing 2010 Earshot Jazz Festival, visit: www.earshot.org. For the current events calendar for the Triple Door, visit www.tripledoor.net. |
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