Legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz passed away

Born in Chicago in 1927, Lee Konitz began playing clarinet at the age of eleven, before adopting the alto saxophone. He was hired by Jerry Wald at the age of sixteen, and a few years later joined Claude Thornhill's orchestra with whom he made his first recordings. His career then spans seven decades...

Lee Konitz was the last living member of the band who participated in Miles Davis' masterful Birth of the Cool. The emblematic album, recorded in 1949 and 1950, featured among others Gerry Mulligan, J. J. Johnson and Max Roach.

Since then, Lee Konitz had recorded more than a hundred albums as a leader or in collaboration with artists such as Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Elvin Jones, Bill Evans... A genius improviser, he loved to reinvent standards, as if to reveal the immense freedom offered by jazz. His album Motion (1961) brings together standards reinterpreted in a "cool" way.

Having played SELMER instruments all his life, Lee Konitz was one of our most fervent ambassadors. He started with the Radio Improved model before switching to the Balanced Action and the Mark VI. We were always delighted to welcome him to our premises and did especially appreciate his joviality and mischievous humour. We also took advantage of one of his visits to Paris to record a short interview in 2012, a lovely moment that we all remember dearly...
 

The Selmer family and the whole Henri SELMER Paris team salute his memory and his immense contribution to the history of jazz.