Konitz studied clarinet as a boy in Chicago (the model which his parents bought him came with an offer which included free lessons with Lou Honig, who also taught Johnny Griffin). He later took up tenor sax and began working professionally in 1942, eventually doubling on alto, which became his premier instrument. Not long afterwards he first met Lennie Tristano, who became an early mentor and teacher, and after a spell with Claude Thornhill's band, he hooked up with Miles Davis and came to perform in the nonet which was responsible for the Birth Of The Cool sessions. He also made some striking records with Tristano at this time, including the Capitol sessions which produced Crosscurrent and Intuition (1949), arguably the first free-jazz vehicles. But he broke away from Tristano not long afterwards and had a steady job with Stan Kenton's band in 1952–3. It was really his final big-band work: thereafter he played mostly in small groups, often under his own leadership. In the 50s there were memorable encounters with Gerry Mulligan and Warne Marsh, and oustanding records for both Atlantic and Verve: the latter contract culminated in Motion (1961), a thrilling trio record with Elvin Jones on drums, which in the CD era was expanded to a three-disc archive with all the unreleased material. In his earlier days, Konitz's alto sound was based around a smooth legato line, and he is often credited with establishing the most convincing counter to Charlie Parker's domination of bebop alto: it was, though, neither uninflected nor free of vibrato – 'I was listening to some of my early records with Stan Kenton and oy vey! It was very schmaltzy!' Instead of Parker's brimming variety, Konitz preferred a long line which swung in a different way, precisely tailored but touching deftly on harmonic ambiguities as it unreeled. After Motion, though, Konitz suddenly found work scarce and he recorded and performed very little for a time, taking in students instead. By the end of the decade his stock was back up and he found himself much in demand in Europe, recording for such labels as Storyville and Steeplechase in the 70s and touring with Warne Marsh. He formed an occasional nonet, and worked in duet with several pianists, including Martial Solal, Michel Petrucciani and Harold Danko.

His music is informed by a compulsion to remain an improviser, and not a licks specialist or a mere pattern-player, strategies which he has often been critical of in others: 'Because I've had so much experience playing, I realized that it's possible to really improvise, and that means going into it with a so-called clean slate.' This has led him to investigate the medium of solo records, playing in Derek Bailey's Company, and generally taking on performing situations where he has much less of a safety net than most veterans of his experience would be prepared to encounter. When coupled with a tone which has now taken on a bruised, sometimes furry quality, it lends his playing a unique mix of adventure and vulnerability. In the 80s and 90s he became amazingly prolific as a recording artist, cutting dozens of records for numerous independents and still turning up on a major from time to time: two records with Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden emerged on Blue Note, and Columbia sponsored a quartet date. He divides his time between New York and Cologne, where he lives with his third wife, and he survived a severe bout of illness and has come back playing more strongly than ever.

Biography from Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia (2005).

If you'd like more information, check out The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2002) or The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (2007), both of which are still in print.