A Rare Lee Konitz Take

 Alto saxophonist Lee Konitz (1927-2020) was one of the finest improvisers in jazz history. His style was unique: light-toned, thoughtful, and meticulous. He once said that when he heard himself playing a phrase he had already played, he would take the horn out of his mouth. 

Without going into clichés about "cool jazz," I'll point out that Konitz was associated with Lennie Tristano and his circle in his early career. His recordings for the Prestige label show the Tristano influence strongly. A recording session from March 8, 1951 has some Tristano-like features, but also shows Konitz moving away from his teacher's shadow, notably by the inclusion of two George Russell compositions.

One title from this session is unusual. Two takes of "Yesterdays" survive, and one of them was issued only on the original 78 - Prestige 755. All subsequent issues of this session use a take of "Yesterdays" with Miles Davis playing an introduction and coda. Miles is not present on the 78  issue. This leads me to believe that the trumpet-less take was issued in error, since Miles's name is listed on the label.

In any case, this take has never been reissued, and I can't find it anywhere on the web. The overall feel of the side is similar to the more familiar version, but Konitz's improvisation is very different. There is some interesting (and quite Tristano-esque) interplay between the saxophone, piano, and guitar - an aspect that is much more subdued on the commonly-known take.

So here it is: a rare recording by Lee Konitz - perhaps the rarest of his commercially issued sides. For context's sake, I have also included the other side of the record, "Duet for Saxophone and Guitar." This quite abstract piece has been reissued many times.

Yesterdays

Lee Konitz - alto saxophone; Sal Mosca - piano; Billy Bauer - guitar; Arnold Fishkin - bass; March 8, 1951

Duet for Saxophone and Guitar

Lee Konitz - alto saxophone; Billy Bauer - guitar; March 13, 1951

Tony Parenti in the Studios

One of the delights of listening to 78s from the 1920s and 1930s is finding excellent jazz solos in the middle of ordinary pop/dance records. You never know when young Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, or one of the Dorsey Brothers will emerge from the depths of a studio dance band to rip off a hot solo that gives the record a new life. Here are three such records from the 1930s featuring one of my favorite clarinetists, Tony Parenti.

Parenti was somewhat of a picaresque character. He began recording in his native New Orleans in 1925, and apparently was quite popular and successful there. But by the end of that decade he had moved to New York to try his luck, and while pure jazz was somewhat out of favor in the early days of the Depression, Parenti found plenty of dance band, studio, and broadcast work. But by the end of the 1930s, he once again walked away from a pretty lucrative musical life to go on the road with Ted Lewis. After that he moved around a good bit - including three years in Miami and a stint back in New Orleans - before ending up back in New York for good. His fellow musicians noted Parenti's love of gambling, and always assumed that his many moves were to keep one step ahead of the bookies to whom he owed money.

But whatever his relationship to the bookies was, Parenti was a gifted and imaginative clarinetist (as well as a solid saxophonist). Although he is now remembered as a dixieland clarinetist, his versatility and reading ability served him well in the New York studio scene of the 1930s. Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, and (later in the decade) Artie Shaw were the first-call studio clarinetists in town, but Parenti was just behind them.

I'll start with the best of the bunch: Chick Bullock's "With Plenty of Money and You," from November 21, 1936. Bullock was a popular singer, and he frequently had excellent jazzmen backing him in the studio. Here Parenti gets a full chorus, and he makes the most of it with some of the best improvising I've ever heard from him. Incidentally, Artie Shaw was also on this record date, and plays an obligato to Bullock's vocal on the other side of the record, "Where the Lazy River Goes By."

Five years earlier, Parenti recorded for the first time with Kate Smith, an unlikely musical partner with whom he would return to the studios several more times. The personnel of Smith's backing band is mostly unknown, but Parenti identified himself as the clarinet soloist on "Makin' Faces at the Man in the Moon." Kate Smith is remembered as belter, but she sings with taste here. It's a nice little record, with eight bars by Parenti, some hot violin, an excellent trombonist, and a trumpet or cornet player who (call me crazy if you will) sure reminds me of Muggsy Spanier.

The last and least of my Parenti-in-the-studio offerings is by the prolific Fred Rich Orchestra, with a vocal by Paul Small. Parenti gets a short eight bars here, but is perhaps overshadowed by excellent trombone and trumpet solos, probably by Tommy Dorsey and Bill Moore. 

Enjoy these obscure example of Tony Parenti as part of the New York studio scene.

With Plenty of Money and You (Chick Bullock - Perfect 7-02-01, recorded November 21, 1936)

Makin' Faces at the Man in the Moon (Kate Smith - Clarion 5359-C, recorded July 7, 1931)

Sing Something Simple (Fred Rich - Columbia 2299-D, recorded September 3, 1930)