Lee Konitz New Quartet
Lee Konitz (alto saxophone), Florian Weber (piano), Jeff Denson (bass), Ziv Ravitz (drums).
Tracklisting:
1. Cherokee (5:41)
2. Subconscious-Lee (8:57)
3. I remember you (10:52)
4. Polka dots and moonbeams (6:07)
5. Color (6:13)
6. Kary's trance (8:56)
7. Thingin' (11:37)
Released 2010.

The association between Lee Konitz and Trio Minsarah dates back quite some years. It started in Cologne, Germany where Lee lived for close to 20 years before returning to New York finally. He met this international trio of pianist Florian Weber from Cologne (Germany), bassist Jeff Denson from San Diego (USA) and drummer Ziv Ravitz from Tel Aviv (Israel) at concerts in Cologne and was immediately won over by them. The four of them worked on and off in both Europe and the U.S. and recorded their first quartet CD “Deep Lee” (ENJ-9517 2) in Brooklyn. Lee soon felt that he had found simply perfect and exciting partners for his music – partners that made him step out of his routine and take a fresh look at well known material he had improvised on all his life.
At the rehearsals for the Vanguard date which were held in his home on NY’s Upper Westside the practical joker announced: “Let’s do this quiz style. We start improvising immediately and give only tiny hints as to the melody we are actually playing on. The first in the audience to recognize the tune should raise his hand and we buy him a drink when he is right!” The audience loved it – it became such fun. A hard one was when Jeff began bowing an old Jewish traditional on which Lee had based his great composition "Kary’s Trance" which was quoted only at the very end of the performance.
Lee had played the Village Vanguard for the last time in 1983 before his hiatus to Europe. An indication how important the Village Vanguard engagement was for him is the fact that for this date he had his old alto saxophone from Tristano days (he hadn’t played it for many years) completely renovated and brought back into shape by his lifelong saxophone doctor in Chicago. Lee holds that this uncompromising, completely personal recording is a high point in his long career. He was so happy about the great “welcome home” the New York press and the enthusiastic audience at the Vanguard gave him.
– Matthias Winckelmann, Producer