Superb-Lee

e was on the bandstand the night Birdland opened in December 1949. He was the last surviving participant in Miles Davis’ sessions, and in the only slightly less significant sessions for his mentor Lennie Tristano’s . He was almost certainly—after Charlie Parker, of course—the most influential saxophonist of the 1950s, with a light, vibrato-less tone that still resonates in jazz today. Over a hugely prolific 75-year career, the distinctive blend of precision and soul that characterized