Konitz is sometimes regarded as the preeminent cool jazz saxophonist, because he performed and recorded with Claude Thornhill, Lennie Tristano (both often cited as important cool jazz proponents of the mid 1940s), and with Miles Davis' on his epochal Birth of the Cool, which gave the form its name.
Konitz has also been repeatedly noted as one of the few jazz saxophonists of the late 1940s and 1950s who did not seem imitative of the massively influential Charlie Parker.
In the early 1950s, Konitz recorded and toured with Stan Kenton's orchestra.
In 1961, he recorded Motion with Elvin Jones on drums and Sonny Dallas on bass. This spontaneous session, widely regarded as a classic in the cool genre, consisted entirely of standards. The loose trio format aptly featured Konitz's unorthodox phrasing and chromaticism.
In 1967, Konitz recorded The Lee Konitz Duets, a series of duets with various musicians. The duo configurations were often unusual for the period (saxophone and trombone, two saxophones). The recordings drew on very nearly the entire history of jazz, from a Louis Armstrong dixieland number with valve trombonist Marshall Brown to two completely free duos: one with a Duke Ellington associate, violinist Ray Nance, and one with guitarist Jim Hall.
Konitz was quite prolific, recording dozens of albums as a band leader. He also recorded and/or performed with Dave Brubeck, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Elvin Jones and others.
You Don't Know What Love Is
Lee Konitz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.
You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.
The lyrics of the song "You Don't Know What Love Is" by Lee Konitz convey the idea that love is not really understood until it is lost. The opening line, "You don't know what love is/'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues," suggests that one cannot truly appreciate the depth of love until they have experienced heartbreak. The lines that follow emphasize the pain and cost of loving someone, the fear of remembering a lost love, and the burning desire for a love that is both elusive and eternal.
Throughout the song, Konitz uses vivid imagery to illustrate the emotions associated with love and loss. The lyric "Do you know how a lost heart fears/At the thought of reminiscing" captures the idea that someone who has lost love may be reluctant to revisit the memories of what they once had. Similarly, the line "And how lips that taste of tears/Lose their taste for kissing" suggests that the pain of heartbreak can impact a person's ability to love in the future.
Taken as a whole, "You Don't Know What Love Is" is a powerful meditation on the nature of love and the depth of emotion it can evoke. By using carefully crafted lyrics and evocative imagery, Konitz creates a song that speaks to the heart of anyone who has ever experienced the pain of lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what love is
You haven't truly experienced love
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've felt the pain and sorrow of lost love
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
Until you've been in a relationship that ended in heartbreak
You don't know what love is.
You can't understand what love truly is without experiencing its challenges
You don't know how lips hurt
You haven't experienced the pain that comes with loving someone
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've given your heart to someone who doesn't feel the same way
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Until you've opened yourself up to love and then had it taken away
You don't know what love is.
You can't understand what love truly is without experiencing its challenges
Do you know how a lost heart fears
Have you ever felt the fear of heartbreak?
At the thought of reminiscing,
At the thought of remembering the past with someone you loved
And how lips that taste of tears
And how the tears that come with heartbreak can affect your ability to love again
Lose their taste for kissing?
Make it difficult to engage in romantic acts
You don't know how hearts burn
You haven't felt the emotional and physical pain that comes with love
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
For a love that is no longer present, but is still felt deeply
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
Until you've spent sleepless nights reflecting on lost love
You don't know what love is.
You can't understand what love truly is without experiencing its challenges
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind