Motion (Lee Konitz album)

Motion
Studio album by Lee Konitz
Released 1961
Recorded August 29, 1961
Olmsted Sound Studios, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length 37:58
Label Verve
V6-8399
Producer Creed Taylor
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Penguin Guide to Jazz

Motion is an album by jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz, recorded in 1961 for Verve Records. It features drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Sonny Dallas. It is regarded by many as Konitz's finest album.[2] The 1990 CD issue expanded the number of tracks from five to eight; a 1998 release then expanded this to 38, although most of the additional tracks were from different recording sessions.[3]

Music

The album consists of performances of five standards, although "the heads when they are stated at all are for the most part fragmentary and more alluded to than stated".[4] On the first track, "I Remember You", Dallas' bass lines provide the song's structure, while Konitz' phrasing, across bar lines and behind the beat, and Jones' drumming are subtly phrased. "Foolin' Myself" has some role-reversal, with Konitz providing harmonic support for Dallas' soloing.[4]

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album a four-star rating plus a special "crown" accolade, and includes it as part of a selected "Core Collection", stating that it is "one of the great modern jazz records".[5]

Track listing

  1. "I Remember You" (Victor Schertzinger, Johnny Mercer) – 4:30
  2. "All of Me" (Gerald Marks, Seymour Simons) – 7:41
  3. "Foolin' Myself" (Jack Lawrence, Peter Tinturin) – 7:01
  4. "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" (Cole Porter) – 10:45
  5. "I'll Remember April" (Gene DePaul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye) – 8:01

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ↑ Motion (Lee Konitz album) at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Liner notes to 2003 CD Reissue
  3. ↑ Yanow, Scott (2003) "Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years" Backbeat Books, p. 591.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Liebman, David "Unknown treasures – Lee Konitz' Motion" David Liebman, on his official website.
  5. ↑ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.