Konitz, a prolific artist celebrated for his improvisation savvy over a seven-decade career, died after a battle with COVID-19, according to his Facebook page.
He started playing the clarinet as a child before switching to saxophone, the instrument he used to cultivate a singular, uninflected style that set him apart from the era’s dominant Charlie Parker, whom Konitz considered a friend. “But I didn’t want to sound like him. So I used almost no vibrato and played mostly in the higher register. That’s the heart of my sound.”
Far more influential to Konitz’s trailblazing path were his studies with the pianist Lennie Tristano, which he said made him “take music more seriously.”
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