Alone Together - Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau & Charlie Haden

Alone Together brings together three musicians from different generations of jazz: alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Brad Mehldau, and bassist Charlie Haden. Recorded in 1997 and released on Blue Note Records, the album features six tracks drawn from the standard repertoire, including "Alone Together," "'Round Midnight," "Cherokee," "The Song Is You," "What Is This Thing Called Love," and "You Stepped Out of a Dream." The pianoless trio format — saxophone, piano, and bass, without drums — places each musician's contribution in sharp relief. Konitz, then in his late sixties, plays with the cool, lyrical approach he had developed since his work with Lennie Tristano in the late 1940s, while Mehldau, in his late twenties, brings a more harmonically complex, rhythmically flexible piano style. Haden's bass provides a warm, singing foundation that connects the two. The absence of drums creates space for the three musicians to interact as equal voices, with tempo and rhythm emerging from collective agreement rather than being imposed. The generational span — from Konitz's roots in cool jazz through Haden's free jazz work with Ornette Coleman to Mehldau's contemporary post-bop approach — gives the album an unusual breadth of stylistic reference within a cohesive, intimate performance.