It's very demanding to make up your own music.

- Lee Konitz

After playing now for 60 years, it's still very challenging for me to play a simple melody and have it clean and touch the reed at the proper time in…

- Lee Konitz

Names and theoretical things don't occur to me. If they do, I'm not doing my real playing mode.

- Lee Konitz

That's kind of my goal: to build a new row of meaningful tones.

- Lee Konitz

You just keep playing. If someone special comes along and organizes it in a new way, then you'll have another approach and everybody will jump on it …

- Lee Konitz

Most jazz players work out their solos, at least to the extent that they have a very specific vocabulary.

- Lee Konitz

Sound is the first thing that we tune into.

- Lee Konitz

Many people do think it's naive to improvise in front of paying customers. I'm not saying one way is better than another.

- Lee Konitz

In some ways Lester Young is the most complex rhythmically of any musician. He does some things which are just phenomenal.

- Lee Konitz