Lee Konitz – Alone Together

Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series Curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman; Blue Note Live, Part 2 Themed Installment Presented on 180g Vinyl 2LP

In honor of Blue Note Records’ 80th Anniversary, the legendary jazz label is launching the Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series. Distinct from the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, this second series curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman features 180g vinyl LP releases in standard packaging with albums spanning the many eras of the label’s history presented by themes: Blue Note Debuts, Blue Grooves, Great Reid Miles Covers, Blue Note Live, and Blue Note Drummer Leaders. The series resumes in December 2019 with Part 2 of the Blue Note Live theme – Jimmy Smith – Groovin’ At Smalls’ Paradise (1958), Lonnie Smith – Live at Club Mozambique (1995) and Lee Konitz – Alone Together (1997) – and will continue with three albums released each month for the coming year.

1997’s Alone Together, Lee Konitz’s first recording for Blue Note, finds the distinctive alto saxophonist teaming up with perfect foil Charlie Haden on bass and young pianist on the rise Brad Mehldau in a cool bop set of standards captured live at Los Angeles’s Jazz Bakery. Largely improvised with Konitz calling out the numbers on the stage, the inventive and invigorating collection is what Konitz called the “sound of surprise” and the embodiment of what jazz is all about. The six standards presented on the album including “Cherokee,” “What Is This Thing Called Love?” and “Round Midnight” were merely jumping-off points for these restlessly creative musicians to go exploring in an uninhibited setting.

This Blue Note 80 Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g double vinyl at Optimal.

Musicians:
Lee Konitz, alto saxophone
Brad Mehldau, piano
Charlie Haden, bass