To-See-Lee: Remembering Lee Konitz and Sleeping in the Airport

I never met Lee Konitz. But, out of all the alto saxophonists in history, he may be the one I’ve listened to the most. And for one night, I got to see Lee Konitz in person. 

When I heard the news of Konitz’s passing this week, the memory of this concert stuck out to me, its significance heightened by the separation from live music that has currently gripped our society.

This particular performance took place in November 2009. I had moved to Virginia several months prior to begin my graduate work, while my now-wife was undertaking her own studies in Los Angeles. After several months apart to begin our graduate careers, I had booked a plane ticket from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles to take advantage of the Thanksgiving break from university. I recall hearing about Konitz performing at the Kennedy Center a couple weeks before the show and realizing it was the night before my scheduled flight. Convenient on one hand; but, I had already stretched my budget to accommodate the holiday travel. I could afford a ticket to the show, but not a hotel room in the city on top of it all. A few days before the concert, I made the decision that I was going to go see one of my favorite musicians and that I would figure out the rest of the night afterward. I packed my things for a week away and headed off to D.C.

This was my first trip into the city. I arrived early and recall walking along the Potomac and going past the Watergate Hotel on my way to the venue. I somehow got a seat in about the third row of the Kennedy Center recital hall. Lee was playing with Trio Minsarah, with whom he recorded an album the year prior. Past that, I can’t recall the specifics of the program – just the sound and the feeling. The history in Lee’s tone, and the possibility in his melodies.

 (In digging through archives to try to find details about this performance, I did find A Blog Supreme’s recap here).

After the performance I looked for ways to kill time before a 9 AM flight to Los Angeles. I walked around. I think I ate in a diner. I thought about Lee Konitz. At about 2 AM I made my way to Dulles airport thinking that I would have a comfortable nap in the terminal. I took a shuttle from the off-site parking lot to the airport to find out that…it was closed for the night. I now realize that airports don’t stay open 24 hours a day, but apparently hadn’t learned that lesson yet! I curled up on the tile floor in the baggage claim and waited until 4:30 for the terminal to open.

While I assuredly wasn’t probably thrilled to spend a few hours on the airport floor in the middle of the night back then, I can look back nostalgically now and be thankful I took the opportunity to see Lee in person at least once. In this time where we are without so many musical experiences, I had a musical experience that was made more memorable by the circumstances surrounding it.

In my teaching studio, I am constantly drawing on Konitz’s recordings to share with my students. To me, he is one of the most inventive and unpredictable improvisers to have ever picked up the instrument, regardless of the specific medium. I’m grateful to have my memory of seeing Lee Konitz that one time and imagine I’ll be listening to and learning from him for many years yet to come…