LEE KONITZ with The Hal Galper Trio

featuring: Lee Konitz - saxophone, Hal Galper - piano, Jeff Johnson - bass, John Bishop - drums

One of the most individual improvisers in jazz, the cool-toned Lee Konitz has always had a strong musical curiosity that has led him to consistently take chances and stretch himself through a 60-year career in music. After appearing on Miles Davis´ Birth of the Cool sessions, Konitz became known as a chief exponent of the cool style; at a time when most alto saxophonists were under the overwhelming influence of Charlie Parker, he found his own voice and became one of the true jazz improvisers. Early on, Konitz gained some recognition for his solos with Claude Thornhill´s Orchestra (´47), but it was during his studies with Lennie Tristano that he developed his singular conception and approach to improvising. In 1949 he recorded the first two free improvisations with the pianist´s sextet, a group that featured Warne Marsh, one of Konitz´s longstanding collaborators. After a stint with Stan Kenton´s Orchestra (´52-´54), Konitz became a leader primarily. For the past sixty years, Konitz has recorded everything from the coolest bop to the most abstract free improvisations; his voice remains authentic and an influence on many musicians to follow. In 1992 Konitz won the prestigious Danish Jazzpar Prize, a fitting tribute to a career of thoughtful and innovative work.

One of the more distinctive voices among a new breed of Hammond B-3 organ players on the jazz scene, Sam Yahel has earned the top spot in Down Beat's annual International Critics Poll as a Talent Deserving Of Recognition for the past four consecutive years.

Since moving to New York in 1990, Yahel has worked with a string of notable jazz artists including tenor saxophonists Joshua Redman and Eric Alexander, former James Brown sideman and alto sax great Maceo Parker, guitarists Peter Bernstein and Bill Frisell, trumpeters Ryan Kisor and Jim Rotondi, vocalists Norah Jones (on her Grammy-winning Come Away With Me), Lizz Wright, and Madeleine Peyroux.

But it has been as a solo artist in his own right that Yahel has made his most personal statements as both composer and player. On Truth and Beauty (Origin Records), his fourth outing as a leader, Yahel joins with longtime colleagues Joshua Redman and drummer Brian Blade in rekindling the potent chemistry they generated as Yaya3, a collective group that was an outgrowth of a residency they had at Small's nightclub in New York. Truth and Beauty was named as one of the top 10 recordings of 2007 by the New York Times.

Tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman is part of the living history of jazz music in America. He has performed, recorded and toured with musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Gerald Wilson, Carlos Santana, Dexter Gordon, Elvin Jones, Mongo Santamaria, Joe Pass, The Grateful Dead, Joe Henderson, Don Ellis, Flora Purim, Phoebe Snow, Bobby Hutcherson and many others.

His influence on the sound of modern jazz music can be heard on many of his albums as a leader. His recent release Gratitude (Origin Records), is his first recording as a leader in 30 years and features drummer Joe La Barbera, vibraphone master Joe Locke and trumpeter Thomas Marriott.

At 77 years old and now making his home in Seattle, Hadley Caliman is an active and vibrant part of the busy Seattle music scene, and continues to tour, teach and perform throughout the world.