Lee Konitz is sometimes regarded as the preeminent cool jazz saxophonist, because he performed and recorded with Claude Thornhill, Lennie Tristano, and with Miles Davis on his epochal Birth of the Cool, which gave the form its name. In the early 1950s, Konitz recorded and toured with Stan Kenton’s orchestra. In 1961, he recorded Motion with Elvin Jones on drums and Sonny Dallas on bass. This spontaneous session, widely regarded as a classic in the cool genre, consisted entirely of standards. In 1967, Konitz recorded The Lee Konitz Duets, a series of duets with various musicians. The recordings drew on very nearly the entire history of jazz, from a Louis Armstrong dixieland number with valve trombonist Marshall Brown to two completely free duos. Konitz has recorded dozens of albums as a band leader. He has also recorded or performed with Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Elvin Jones and others.