Although never a poll winner, altoist
Lee Konitz has had a more productive and consistently stimulating career than most of his contemporaries, never afraid to improvise fairly freely in his relaxed style. For this Evidence CD,
Konitz digs into seven standards with an impressive rhythm section (pianist
Kenny Barron, bassist
James Genus and drummer
Kenny Washington) and constantly comes up with interesting ideas and new twists. There are no phony disguises of familiar tunes with new titles on this date; just creative blowing.
Konitz uplifts such often-overplayed material as "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," "Misty," "Alone Together," "Body and Soul" and "My Funny Valentine" without ever becoming predictable;
Kenny Barron is in excellent form, too. This CD is recommended as a strong example of
Lee Konitz's playing in the '90s. [
Jazz Nocturne was reissued on an import-only CD in 1999.]