The Complete 1956 Quartets(2CDs) American Jazz Classics ****

Nothing here equals Konitz’s genuinely classic Motion, and the set includes the currently available

Inside Hi-Fi

, but for Konitz fans it also covers two rarities: the 1956

Worthwhile Konitz

and the 1957 bonus live album,

The Real Lee Konitz

. Standards form the staple fare (even the few originals use progressions taken from the Great American Songbook) and all are blowing sessions. What’s interesting about them is that the great altoist debuted tenor on some of the 1956 sessions, firstly on one track on his album with Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar and Shelly Manne (the only time this unit played with him), and then more extensively with his Tristano school associates, Billy Bauer, Sal Mosca, Arnold Fishkind and Dick Scott. The music is redolent of its era, but Konitz, the master melodist in congenial company, always has something individual to say.