Nonet

by Scott YanowThis is a group that should have been able to stay together, but it was formed a few years too soon, at the height of the fusion era. Altoist Lee Konitz's nonet (featuring trumpeter Burt Collins, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, and keyboardist Andy Laverne, among others) reflected its leader's interest in a wide variety of jazz. The music on this valuable disc ranges from swing classics ("If Dreams Come True" and "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody") and bop ("Without a Song") to Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti" and a pair of Chick Corea tunes ("Matrix" and "Times Lie"). Sy Johnson wrote most of the arrangements (including a full orchestration of six choruses from Chick Corea's piano solo on "Matrix"). This is one of Lee Konitz's finest recordings of the 1970s.