First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1

First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1
Live album by Lee Konitz, Dan Tepfer, Michael Janisch & Jeff Williams
Released	June 10, 2014 (2014-06-10)
Recorded	May 19 & 20, 2010
Venue	PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Soho, London
Genre	Jazz
Length	68:08
Label	Whirlwind
Producer	Michael Janisch Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz chronology
Costumes Are Mandatory (2013) First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1 (2014) Standards Live ~ At The Village Vanguard (2014)

First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1 is a live album by saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Dan Tepfer, bassist Michael Janisch, and drummer Jeff Williams. ^{[1] [2] [3]} It was released by Whirlwind Recordings on 10 June 2014. ^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
DownBeat	[5]
The Guardian	[1]

John Fordham of The Guardian described Konitz's playing, with the words of composer John Zorn, as "brilliant, adventurous and original", explaining that on the album, "They use standard songs to get their bearings, but choose which and when and who plays what on the fly. [...] Tepfer, Janisch and Williams add up to a superb piano trio in their own right, and Konitz picks up their suggestions and supplies his own with his characteristically wispy, falling-leaves phrases, sly bebop figures and wincing, sweet-sour treble tone." ^[1] James Hale, writing for DownBeat , stated: "this is a live recording that captures the essence of improvisational musical dialogue—dull spots and all." ^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Billie's Bounce"	Charlie Parker	9:20
2.	"All The Things You Are"	Jerome Kern Oscar Hammerstein II	10:00
3.	"Stella by Starlight"	Victor Young	9:57
4.	"Giant Steps"	John Coltrane	11:37
5.	"Body & Soul"	Johnny Green	5:03
6.	"Alone Together"	Arthur Schwartz Howard Dietz	14:08
7.	"Subconscious Lee"		6:08
8.	"Outro (Sweet & Lovely)"		1:55
Total length:			68:08

Personnel

Music

• Lee Konitz – alto (1, 3, 7, 8) and soprano (2, 5, 6) saxophones
• Dan Tepfer – piano
• Michael Janisch – double bass
• Jeff Williams – drums

Production

• Michael Janisch – executive producer
• Lee Konitz – production
• Luc Saint-Martin – recording
• Tyler McDiarmid (NYC, January 2014) – mixing, mastering

References

1. Fordham, John (June 5, 2014). "Konitz/Tepfer/Janisch/Williams: First Meeting: Live in London Vol 1 review". The Guardian . Retrieved August 21, 2014.
2. Graham, Stephen. "Level playing field: Lee Konitz/Dan Tepfer/Michael Janisch/Jeff Williams, First Meeting: Live in London: Volume 1, Whirlwind Recordings". Marlbank. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
3. "Michael Janisch / Lee Konitz / Dan Tepfer - First Meeting: Live in London, Vol. 1 | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved December 13, 2025.
4. "First Meeting - Live In London (Volume 1), by Lee Konitz, Dan Tepfer, Michael Janisch, Jeff Williams". Bandcamp . Retrieved December 13, 2025.
5. Hale, James (July 2014). "80th Anniversary Collector's Edition DownBeat: The 80 Coolest Things in Jazz Today" (PDF). DownBeat . p. 68. Retrieved December 13, 2025.