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Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh


Noj

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Konitz and Marsh are probably the best and long lived partnerships in jazz. Two minds that think alike. Their simultaneous soloing is often breathtaking. All their recordings can be safely recommended.

If you are asking about Topsy, that's an Atlantic date with Billy Bauer, Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke from 1955. I can't lay my hands on the disc at the moment but I think the title is Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh.

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That's the one with Topsy.

The Mosaic Tristano/Konitz/Marsh set is pretty much a "must have" if you're digging this stuff at all. For later adventures of this duo, check out the three volumes (indivdual) discs on Storyville recorded at Cafe Montmarte in December of '75. They're call WARNE MARSH-LEE KONITZ QUINTET, VOLUME (X). Some pretty heavy stuff going on there.

Warne's a particular favorite/god of mine, and I'd recommend pretty much anything you come across by him. Lee's one of the most prolifically recorded musicians in the history of jazz, so finding SOMETHING by him shouldn't be hard at all. Two of the most distinctive and creative voices jazz has produced, as far as I'm concerned.

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Get Warne Marsh's "Music for Prancing" with the wonderful Ronnie Ball on piano. Great quartet date.

try this link:

http://home.earthlink.net/~magnebit/

then get the Mosaic. I think that was my very first and I fell in love with it, Tristano & Marsh (whom I hadn't known before) and Mosaic in general.

Lee reqs:

- Motion (3CD issue in the Verve Elite Edition series), stunning trio sessions, maybe the best of Lee there is.

- Subconscious Lee (OJCCD), feat. Tristano, Marsh and some very early Konitz, nice addition/prelude to the mosaic

- Sound of Surprise (BMG France), with Abercrombie, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron and the great Ted Brown

- Konitz meets Mulligan (Pacific/EMI CD), Lee sitting in with the Mulligan/Baker trio

- Live at the Half Note (Verve 2CD), with Warne Marsh, Bill Evans, Jimmy Garrison, Paul Motian

just some, of course!

ubu

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Thanks all around for the recommendations.

Y'all should see the book of print-outs I have of recommendations. My mom saw me going through the monstrous stack with a highlighter and muttered something about "A Beautiful Mind"... <_<

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Almost everything that Konitz and Marsh recorded together is exceptional.

My preferred recording is Live at the Half Note (1959) on Verve.

The Mosaic set is absolutely essential too. I find this 6CD set to be much to short, when I received it I played it from start to end without interruption (it was a Sunday afternoon) :)

The only session I find dissappointing is their encounter on Bill Evans' Cross-Currents (1977) album, which sounds underrehearsed.

Edited by Claude
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"All Music" (Nessa N-7, 1976) is a very fine example of Warne's playing. It's one of my over all favourite records, and I think I play it at least once a month the year round. The other musicians on that session are Lou Levy, Jake Hanna and Fred Atwood. Chuck has mentioned something about a possible reissue. Our friend Lawrence Kart has written the liner notes.

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  • 9 months later...

Listening to Live at the Half Note as I type this, and thought it was time to stir up interest again in this incredible duo. This live set blows me away every time I play it, not so much for its intensity, but for the spontaneity of improvised line and almost scary intuition these two had together. Just when I think I've memorized some of the lines, and try to sing along with them, Konitz or Marsh go just where my ears don't expect them to go. These guys were truly masters of (subtle) surprise.

I don't know if this two-disc set is out-of-print, but if you don't yet have it, you're in for a big treat.

"317 East 32nd." Yeah.

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... but for the spontaneity of improvised line and almost scary intuition these two had together. Just when I think I've memorized some of the lines, and try to sing along with them, Konitz or Marsh go just where my ears don't expect them to go. These guys were truly masters of (subtle) surprise.

:tup:tup:tup

That's what they are! Love that set, too! And it's on my huge pile of "I have to listen to this music rather yesterday than today"-CDs...

Remember one of Konitz' last discs (featuring beautiful Ted Brown) had the title "Sound of Surprise"! And Mark Turner, who was on one of Konitz' latest discs (on Chesky, no idea what that title was again, I only recently got it) is Mark Turner, one of the most interesting of the young lions tenors, in my opinion, and clearly indebted to Warne Marsh.

ubu

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Also wanted to say that Marsh's cover of the third movement of Tchaikovsky's "Opus 42," with Ted Brown in the front line (from Jazz of Two Cities), is one of the most beautiful things on record ... ever. One occasion where the word "sublime" truly does seem appropriate.

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Also wanted to say that Marsh's cover of the third movement of Tchaikovsky's "Opus 42," with Ted Brown in the front line (from Jazz of Two Cities), is one of the most beautiful things on record ... ever. One occasion where the word "sublime" truly does seem appropriate.

Thanks for mentioning! That's another CD I should have a listen to soon!

ubu

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