Lee Konitz (b. October 13, 1927) is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois. He has been noted to be one of the few alto saxophonists of his era to remain uninfluenced by Charlie Parker. His approach?more subdued and measured than that of Parker?took several fellow musicians some time to grow accustomed to after first listens. This does not mean to imply that he feels his approach toward the alto sax in any way superior to that of Parker. If anything, it is the other way around. "Bird"?as Charlie Parker is known?would often tell Konitz that he appreciated the fact that he didn't play like him."Ibid"; An Interview with Lee Konitz Konitz is sometimes regarded as the preeminent cool jazz saxophonist, because he performed and recorded with Claude Thornhill, Lennie Tristano (both often cited as important cool jazz proponents of the mid 1940s), and with Miles Davis on his epochal Birth of the Co

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