Search - Grace Kelly;Lee Konitz :: Gracefullee

Liner Notes: GRACEfulLEE People have asked me who I would like to play with if I could have my own dream band. I feel so fortunate to have recorded this CD because it is with the dream band of mine. Rufus Reid, Russell Malone, Matt Wilson and of course Lee Konitz have all been inspirations of mine on various Cds of their own and ones where they play with other giants in jazz. The most amazing thing for me while recording this CD with them was to hear my sound mixed with theirs. It s amazing to hear a recording with my playing mixed with the great Lee Konitz who has one of the most wonderfully distinctive and unique sounds on the alto saxophone. Everything seems so magical on this CD. The day of the session was extremely special. Originally I had asked Lee if he would record a couple of tracks with me for my next CD I was working on back in Boston. Lee and I wrote a song together a few weeks before the session by faxing our ideas back and forth to each other. The song is GracefulLee . Instead of Lee coming to Boston to just record a tune or two, I said we would come to New York and put a rhythm section together there to record the tunes. Once we entered the studio and started recording, the feeling among all of us was just magical. We just kept playing one tune after another, everything was one take and the way the music was formed was so organic and creative. By the time we were done, the couple of tunes we had intended to play turned into a whole CD of music itself. The day of the session really felt like a musical lesson from the masters to me. Hearing Lee, Russell, Rufus and Matt bring their individual special touch to the music was inspiring. I played in a way that I have never played before. All I tried to do was surround my self with the beautiful support I was getting from this all star rhythm section and Lee. I then reacted to what I was hearing and feeling. One of the most important lessons I have learned from Mr. Lee Konitz is to constantly be spontaneous while playing music. It sounds as if it is an easy thing to do, but it s surprising how hard it really is. Every time I listen to Lee s music, I am amazed how it always feels so fresh. When I listen to his many different versions of the same standard, it never bores me because each time it is like a new journey. Recording with Lee was really eye opening. It made me really try to simply listen and react. A few of the improvisations and/or duos we did were completely made up at the moment. This is really what makes the CD special to me. We captured each song in a way that will never come again. We played it, we recorded it and now it is yours to listen to. I hope you find as much excitement and joy in this CD GracefulLee as I do. ... Grace Kelly I have had the pleasure over these many musical years to play with different musicians around the world; and have been delighted at how responsive so many of these talented people have been to me, then giving me an opportunity to respond to them in return. This is what it is all about to me. I met Grace and her mom and papa when she was 13 years old and she gave me three of her CD s. She is now 15 and a fearless young improviser, and besides that she is fun to be around. Now I have a new friend in Grace who at this very young age is seriously interested in playing the saxophone and more. She has invited me to play a few tunes on her new CD but once we got into the studio there were many inspired moments and it turned out to be a whole Cd on its own. I gave her permission to play better than I, if she just couldn t stand it anymore. With this great rhythm section it was a pleasure to be a part of the musical process and experience. I thank Irene and Bob (her folks) for being so encouraging and supportive of this project and of Grace. Lee Konitz