Lee Konitz & Dan Tepfer – Decade (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:18 minutes | 851 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Verve
Lee Konitz & Dan Tepfer – Snapshots of an unusual duo: Legendary alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and young pianist Dan Tepfer have been forming a musical team for around ten years…. After playing now for 60+ years, it’s still very challenging for me to play a simple melody and have it clean and touch the reed at the proper time in the proper way. … I could stop and say, well that was a D minor, G seven, but I really don’t want to know that. I just want to know that there’s a combination of notes that makes a sound.
As Dan Tepfer recalls in the sleeve notes of this album, he met Lee Konitz in 2006 through Martial Solal. Two years later, the “young” 26-year-old pianist and the “old” 81-year-old saxophonist crossed swords on their gorgeous album Duos With Lee. Here is a decade − Decade is the title of this album to be released in the summer of 2018 – of complicity, both on stage and in studio, cast in stone in a poignant duo. A great moment of complete improvisation, in which only one classic, Body & Soul, makes an appearance to close out the album. Of course, the biggest shock of this recording comes from the exquisite beauty of this unique sound, the classy melodies and intelligence of the musical phrases, played on both the alto and the soprano by the Chicago saxophonist. Konitz has always worshipped duos, especially with pianists such as Gil Evans, Martial Solal, Dick Katz or Michel Petrucciani. But Decade is a real duo, and not just the draft of a great master followed carefully by some student. Tepfer’s piano is a constant creation. And on the 9/11 Suite, a strong three-part composition based on the title’s theme, the reciprocal listening is in fact astounding, as Dan Tepfer and Lee Konitz venture in unison onto steep pathways. A bold and magnificent album. – Marc Zisman
Tracklist:
01. Thrill
02. 9/11 Suite – Pt. I
03. 9/11 Suite – Pt. II
04. 9/11 Suite – Pt. III
05. Pulsing Green
06. Alter Ego
07. Through The Tunnel
08. Egos Alter
09. Rebounds
10. A Place We Know
11. Pulsing Orange
12. Whirlpool
13. Ceaseless
14. Eager Altos
15. Body & Soul
Personnel:
Lee Konitz – alto and soprano, voice
Dan Tepfer – piano
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