Lee Konitz, Miles Davis et al - Conception (1956 compilation, rec. 1949-51)

R.I.P. Lee Konitz, 13 October 1927 - 15 April 2020

The legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz has died at the age of 92, from Covid-related pneumonia.  He was the last surviving member of Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool band, and had a storied career in his own right as a distinctive, melodic player and improviser.

This great collection was issued by Prestige in 1956 to bring together some 78rpm sides and material from 10" LPs.  The first six tracks in fact are the entirety of "The New Sounds" by "Lee Konitz featuring Miles Davis", a 10" released in 1951.  All of it essential early cool jazz and bop.

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pw: sgtg

Dave Pike - The Doors Of Perception (1970)

Detroit-born vibesman Dave Pike released this Herbie Mann-produced oddity in 1970, but the basic tracks were actually recorded four years earlier at the Village Gate.  Mann's attempts to get hip with the production include rain and thunder tapes, ersatz audience overdubs and some insane stereo panning.  Even if The Doors Of Perception might sound dated for all of that (and for its title), the music within has enough great grooves to make for a durable, and highly enjoyable 27 minutes.

The first lengthy track, The Drifter, has a great melodic swing to it with a nice edge of fuzz on Chuck Israels' walking bass (which gets dialled up to eleven on the title track that follows).  The album's second half reins in the studio trickery for a couple of particularly nice cuts - the self-explanatory Ballad, and the final breezy groove of Anticipation, where you can best focus on this great group's interplay.

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