David Liebman Trio

Lieb Plays Weill
Daybreak-Challenge DBCHR75439

Dave Liebman Group

Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman

Jazz Werkstatt JW 079

Dave Liebman/Evan Parker/Tony Bianco

Relevance

Red Toucan #RT 9338

Three by Lieb:

By Ken Waxman

After more than three decades, saxophonist Dave Liebman is the epitome of the modern improviser whose work is constantly first-class, but rarely challenging. Two of these CDs alter those expectations, showing that his style can be extended.

Take Turnaround, where Liebman and guitarist Vic Jurius, bassist Tony Mariano and percussionist Marko Marcinko, romp through a collection of rearranghed Orenette Coleman tunes. More spectacular is Relevance, a two saxophone face-off between Liebman and London’s Evan Parker, his equivalent in the free music field, backed by drummer Tony Bianco. As good as it is, Lieb Plays Weill, only finds Liebman adding another to his collection of stellar interpretive performances.

Relevance offers one of the most spectacular examples of unrestrained tenor – and soprano – madness since John Coltrane recorded with Pharoah Sanders. Instructively it’s difficult to tell one reedist from the other. It isn’t surprising because both men’s styles initially derive from Trane.

While the duets are linear, any fireworks expressed are kept within the creative framework by the solid rolls, pops and jagged rebounds of Bianco. From the beginning it’s likely Liebman on tenor who latches onto hocketing squeaks and extended vibrato runs, while Parker’s tenor playing evolves from irregular diaphragm-forced runs to reed biting. More moderato on sopranos, they two create in double counterpoint. Only in the second set does Parker use circular breathing. In response Liebman unrolls throat-tightening dissonance and triple-tonguing. Before switching back to tenors for an additional layer of contrapuntal, contours, one saxist sounds an adagio tone that could come from a country blues fiddle.

Coleman is the modern jazzman closest to country blues. Yet Liebman, who specializes in the development of harmony, chooses to emphasize Coleman’s melodies. The interpretations evolve in blocks as opposed to Coleman’s composition as an organic whole. Juris’ strategies add to this concept. The treatment of “Kathelin Gray” for instance, is gentle and straightforward, close to a Broadway ballad, with Liebman contributing a ravishing obbligato. “Una Muy Bonita” is given a Latin tinge with slick, resonating licks and wide strums from Juris, clavé pops and rolls from Marcinko and a double-time saxophone solo. Although Liebman produces multiphonics from his wooden flute on “Lonely Woman”, the tune’s romanticism is emphasized, especially when reflective slurred fingering and reverb from the guitarist parallels Liebman’s narrative.

“Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing” manages to advance the first theme – initially triple-stopped by Marino – with bell-shaking and snare pops plus harsh strumming. The second tune is notable for Liebman’s flutter-tonguing and trilling lows plus near baroque-licks from Juris, with cymbal sizzles marking the finale.

Although the instrumentation is the same on the salute to German composer Kurt Weill, the conception is anything but radical. Guitarist Jesse van Ruller’s playing, for instance, is so mainstream that Juris’ individuality becomes more obvious. Van Ruller sprinkles licks intelligently and studs his comping with string snaps, but mostly he and the others – bassist Marius Betts and drummer Eric Ineke – are pretty unobtrusive.

Ideas come from Liebman, but rarely ruffle the song-like surfaces. A tune such as “You’re Far Too Near Me” floats on reed obbligatos that are practically Getzian, for example, while “This Time Next Year”, with Liebman’s chirping soprano becomes a mellow bossa nova. Even his flute peeps on “Applejack” are more frilly than funky. About the only time lyricism is tested is on “Speak Low”, when magisterial tenor lines meet intricate staccato plinks from van Ruller. Rejuvenated, the familiar tune pops with finger-vibrated reed smears, expressive string strums and cymbal slaps.

Liebman merely confirms his interpretive skills here, but should be applauded for challenging himself elsewhere. As these CDs attest, the further he gets from his comfort zone the better he sounds.

Track Listing: Lieb: 1. Mack The Knife (Mackie Messer) 2. This Time Next Year* 3. Speak Low* 4. What Good Would the Moon Be 5. Here I’ll Stay* 6. Liebslied 7. Let There Be Life, Love and Laughter 8. You’re Far Too Near Me* 9. Apple Jack* 10. My Ship 11. This is New* 12. September Song

Personnel: Lieb: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones, wooden flute and piano); Jesse van Ruller (guitar)*; Marius Betts (bass) and Eric Ineke (drums)

Track Listing: Relevance: 1. Relevance (1st Set) Part 1 2. Relevance (1st Set) Part 2 3. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 1 4. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 2

Personnel: Relevance: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and Indian bamboo flute); Evan Parker (soprano and tenor saxophones) and Tony Bianco (drums)

Track Listing: Turnaround: 1. Enfant 2. Turnaround 3. Kathelin Gray 4. Bird Food 5. Lonely Woman 6. Cross Breeding 7. Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing 8. Una Muy Bonita 9. The Blessing 10. The Sky

Personnel: Turnaround: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and wooden flute); Vic Juris (electric and acoustic guitars); Tony Mariano (bass) and Marko Marcinko (drums and percussion)

-- for All About Jazz-New York May 2010

May 17, 2010

Dave Liebman/Evan Parker/Tony Bianco

Relevance
Red Toucan #RT 9338

Dave Liebman Group

Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman

Jazz Werkstatt JW 079

David Liebman Trio

Lieb Plays Weill

Daybreak-Challenge DBCHR75439

Three By Lieb:

By Ken Waxman

After more than three decades, saxophonist Dave Liebman is the epitome of the modern improviser whose work is constantly first-class, but rarely challenging. Two of these CDs alter those expectations, showing that his style can be extended.

Take Turnaround, where Liebman and guitarist Vic Jurius, bassist Tony Mariano and percussionist Marko Marcinko, romp through a collection of rearranghed Orenette Coleman tunes. More spectacular is Relevance, a two saxophone face-off between Liebman and London’s Evan Parker, his equivalent in the free music field, backed by drummer Tony Bianco. As good as it is, Lieb Plays Weill, only finds Liebman adding another to his collection of stellar interpretive performances.

Relevance offers one of the most spectacular examples of unrestrained tenor – and soprano – madness since John Coltrane recorded with Pharoah Sanders. Instructively it’s difficult to tell one reedist from the other. It isn’t surprising because both men’s styles initially derive from Trane.

While the duets are linear, any fireworks expressed are kept within the creative framework by the solid rolls, pops and jagged rebounds of Bianco. From the beginning it’s likely Liebman on tenor who latches onto hocketing squeaks and extended vibrato runs, while Parker’s tenor playing evolves from irregular diaphragm-forced runs to reed biting. More moderato on sopranos, they two create in double counterpoint. Only in the second set does Parker use circular breathing. In response Liebman unrolls throat-tightening dissonance and triple-tonguing. Before switching back to tenors for an additional layer of contrapuntal, contours, one saxist sounds an adagio tone that could come from a country blues fiddle.

Coleman is the modern jazzman closest to country blues. Yet Liebman, who specializes in the development of harmony, chooses to emphasize Coleman’s melodies. The interpretations evolve in blocks as opposed to Coleman’s composition as an organic whole. Juris’ strategies add to this concept. The treatment of “Kathelin Gray” for instance, is gentle and straightforward, close to a Broadway ballad, with Liebman contributing a ravishing obbligato. “Una Muy Bonita” is given a Latin tinge with slick, resonating licks and wide strums from Juris, clavé pops and rolls from Marcinko and a double-time saxophone solo. Although Liebman produces multiphonics from his wooden flute on “Lonely Woman”, the tune’s romanticism is emphasized, especially when reflective slurred fingering and reverb from the guitarist parallels Liebman’s narrative.

“Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing” manages to advance the first theme – initially triple-stopped by Marino – with bell-shaking and snare pops plus harsh strumming. The second tune is notable for Liebman’s flutter-tonguing and trilling lows plus near baroque-licks from Juris, with cymbal sizzles marking the finale.

Although the instrumentation is the same on the salute to German composer Kurt Weill, the conception is anything but radical. Guitarist Jesse van Ruller’s playing, for instance, is so mainstream that Juris’ individuality becomes more obvious. Van Ruller sprinkles licks intelligently and studs his comping with string snaps, but mostly he and the others – bassist Marius Betts and drummer Eric Ineke – are pretty unobtrusive.

Ideas come from Liebman, but rarely ruffle the song-like surfaces. A tune such as “You’re Far Too Near Me” floats on reed obbligatos that are practically Getzian, for example, while “This Time Next Year”, with Liebman’s chirping soprano becomes a mellow bossa nova. Even his flute peeps on “Applejack” are more frilly than funky. About the only time lyricism is tested is on “Speak Low”, when magisterial tenor lines meet intricate staccato plinks from van Ruller. Rejuvenated, the familiar tune pops with finger-vibrated reed smears, expressive string strums and cymbal slaps.

Liebman merely confirms his interpretive skills here, but should be applauded for challenging himself elsewhere. As these CDs attest, the further he gets from his comfort zone the better he sounds.

Track Listing: Lieb: 1. Mack The Knife (Mackie Messer) 2. This Time Next Year* 3. Speak Low* 4. What Good Would the Moon Be 5. Here I’ll Stay* 6. Liebslied 7. Let There Be Life, Love and Laughter 8. You’re Far Too Near Me* 9. Apple Jack* 10. My Ship 11. This is New* 12. September Song

Personnel: Lieb: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones, wooden flute and piano); Jesse van Ruller (guitar)*; Marius Betts (bass) and Eric Ineke (drums)

Track Listing: Relevance: 1. Relevance (1st Set) Part 1 2. Relevance (1st Set) Part 2 3. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 1 4. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 2

Personnel: Relevance: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and Indian bamboo flute); Evan Parker (soprano and tenor saxophones) and Tony Bianco (drums)

Track Listing: Turnaround: 1. Enfant 2. Turnaround 3. Kathelin Gray 4. Bird Food 5. Lonely Woman 6. Cross Breeding 7. Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing 8. Una Muy Bonita 9. The Blessing 10. The Sky

Personnel: Turnaround: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and wooden flute); Vic Juris (electric and acoustic guitars); Tony Mariano (bass) and Marko Marcinko (drums and percussion)

-- For All About Jazz – New York May 2010

May 17, 2010

Dave Liebman Group

Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman
Jazz Werkstatt JW 079

Dave Liebman/Evan Parker/Tony Bianco

Relevance

Red Toucan #RT 9338

David Liebman Trio

Lieb Plays Weill

Daybreak-Challenge DBCHR75439

Three By Lieb:

By Ken Waxman

After more than three decades, saxophonist Dave Liebman is the epitome of the modern improviser whose work is constantly first-class, but rarely challenging. Two of these CDs alter those expectations, showing that his style can be extended.

Take Turnaround, where Liebman and guitarist Vic Jurius, bassist Tony Mariano and percussionist Marko Marcinko, romp through a collection of rearranghed Orenette Coleman tunes. More spectacular is Relevance, a two saxophone face-off between Liebman and London’s Evan Parker, his equivalent in the free music field, backed by drummer Tony Bianco. As good as it is, Lieb Plays Weill, only finds Liebman adding another to his collection of stellar interpretive performances.

Relevance offers one of the most spectacular examples of unrestrained tenor – and soprano – madness since John Coltrane recorded with Pharoah Sanders. Instructively it’s difficult to tell one reedist from the other. It isn’t surprising because both men’s styles initially derive from Trane.

While the duets are linear, any fireworks expressed are kept within the creative framework by the solid rolls, pops and jagged rebounds of Bianco. From the beginning it’s likely Liebman on tenor who latches onto hocketing squeaks and extended vibrato runs, while Parker’s tenor playing evolves from irregular diaphragm-forced runs to reed biting. More moderato on sopranos, they two create in double counterpoint. Only in the second set does Parker use circular breathing. In response Liebman unrolls throat-tightening dissonance and triple-tonguing. Before switching back to tenors for an additional layer of contrapuntal, contours, one saxist sounds an adagio tone that could come from a country blues fiddle.

Coleman is the modern jazzman closest to country blues. Yet Liebman, who specializes in the development of harmony, chooses to emphasize Coleman’s melodies. The interpretations evolve in blocks as opposed to Coleman’s composition as an organic whole. Juris’ strategies add to this concept. The treatment of “Kathelin Gray” for instance, is gentle and straightforward, close to a Broadway ballad, with Liebman contributing a ravishing obbligato. “Una Muy Bonita” is given a Latin tinge with slick, resonating licks and wide strums from Juris, clavé pops and rolls from Marcinko and a double-time saxophone solo. Although Liebman produces multiphonics from his wooden flute on “Lonely Woman”, the tune’s romanticism is emphasized, especially when reflective slurred fingering and reverb from the guitarist parallels Liebman’s narrative.

“Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing” manages to advance the first theme – initially triple-stopped by Marino – with bell-shaking and snare pops plus harsh strumming. The second tune is notable for Liebman’s flutter-tonguing and trilling lows plus near baroque-licks from Juris, with cymbal sizzles marking the finale.

Although the instrumentation is the same on the salute to German composer Kurt Weill, the conception is anything but radical. Guitarist Jesse van Ruller’s playing, for instance, is so mainstream that Juris’ individuality becomes more obvious. Van Ruller sprinkles licks intelligently and studs his comping with string snaps, but mostly he and the others – bassist Marius Betts and drummer Eric Ineke – are pretty unobtrusive.

Ideas come from Liebman, but rarely ruffle the song-like surfaces. A tune such as “You’re Far Too Near Me” floats on reed obbligatos that are practically Getzian, for example, while “This Time Next Year”, with Liebman’s chirping soprano becomes a mellow bossa nova. Even his flute peeps on “Applejack” are more frilly than funky. About the only time lyricism is tested is on “Speak Low”, when magisterial tenor lines meet intricate staccato plinks from van Ruller. Rejuvenated, the familiar tune pops with finger-vibrated reed smears, expressive string strums and cymbal slaps.

Liebman merely confirms his interpretive skills here, but should be applauded for challenging himself elsewhere. As these CDs attest, the further he gets from his comfort zone the better he sounds.

Track Listing: Lieb: 1. Mack The Knife (Mackie Messer) 2. This Time Next Year* 3. Speak Low* 4. What Good Would the Moon Be 5. Here I’ll Stay* 6. Liebslied 7. Let There Be Life, Love and Laughter 8. You’re Far Too Near Me* 9. Apple Jack* 10. My Ship 11. This is New* 12. September Song

Personnel: Lieb: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones, wooden flute and piano); Jesse van Ruller (guitar)*; Marius Betts (bass) and Eric Ineke (drums)

Track Listing: Relevance: 1. Relevance (1st Set) Part 1 2. Relevance (1st Set) Part 2 3. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 1 4. Relevance (2nd Set) Part 2

Personnel: Relevance: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and Indian bamboo flute); Evan Parker (soprano and tenor saxophones) and Tony Bianco (drums)

Track Listing: Turnaround: 1. Enfant 2. Turnaround 3. Kathelin Gray 4. Bird Food 5. Lonely Woman 6. Cross Breeding 7. Face of the Bass/Beauty is a Rare Thing 8. Una Muy Bonita 9. The Blessing 10. The Sky

Personnel: Turnaround: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones and wooden flute); Vic Juris (electric and acoustic guitars); Tony Mariano (bass) and Marko Marcinko (drums and percussion)

-- For All About Jazz – New York May 2010

May 17, 2010

David Liebman/Ellery Eskelin Quartet

Renewal
hatOLOGY 654

More astringent in their reed interaction then earlier tandem tenor teams such as Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin or Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, the overwhelming techniques of American saxophonists David Liebman and Ellery Eskelin advantageously boost each other’s strong points.

Seconded by the spontaneous pulses of drummer Jim Black from Eskelin’s working trio, and the steady back-up of bassist Tony Marino from Liebman’s regular band, the quartet ranges through a series of originals written by band members plus two versions of Eric Dolphy’s “Out There”. Although of different generations – Liebman was born in 1946, Eskelin in 1959 – their mutual respect means that the resulting unison or double counterpoint styling harmonically plugs any pre-existing timbral gaps from either soloist. A similar irregular vibrato allows each saxophonist to frequently improvise a half-step apart until one dips into slurred basso growls and the other nervy altissimo shrills.

The Dolphy line features accelerated spitting pops and knife-sharp cries, with the tune completed by each saxophonist sequentially trading fours with the drummer. Alternately, both are confident enough to limn “Renewal” in a gentle balladic mode, with Marino’s rasgueado arpeggios and triple-stopping their only anchor.

Probably the most expressive piece is Liebman’s “Demi and The Blue Man”, with its vaguely Latin rhythm conveyed by cow-bell whacks, tambourine rattles and bass drum bumps. As the tempo speeds up, the saxmen construct echoing blocks of broken-chord cross tones until reaching a climax of scalar sluices, chirps and tremolo note clusters.

-- Ken Waxman

-- MusicWorks Issue #104

August 8, 2009

We Three

Three For All
Challenge Records CHR 70130

Baby boomers on either side of 60, these three jazzmen triply confirm that veterans continue to make personal, well-crafted music without falling into the twin traps of self-parodying nostalgia or unwarranted experimentation.

Veteran of their own bands and associations with heavyweights such as Miles Davis, John Scofield and Carla Bley, saxophonist/flautist Dave Liebman, electric bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Adam Nussbaum apprenticed in the 1960s and 1970s and survived most of the twists and trends of the decades since. Mostly avoiding fads like fusion, they’ve stayed true to their own vision(s).

If Three For All is a little conservative, it’s because the trio members are perfectly content in their musical skins. They’re not rule-breaking visionaries like – to take examples of those who played the same instruments, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus or Tony Williams – but tradition extenders. Thus everything here from the originals – Liebman and Nussbaum pen two each; Swallow three – to the standards by Davis, Thelonious Monk and even Warren-Dubin, stays within the bounds of good taste. This isn’t music that calls for jaw-dropping awe, but rather quiet appreciation.

Even Liebman, who on his solo discs and duos with drummer Abbey Rader often touches on the avant garde, reins himself in until Nussbaum’s “BTU”, the final track. Here he spouts gritty split tones, tongue flutters and glottal punctuation in false registers. For the finale, his rubato recap of the head fuses impressively with the drummer’s thumping and pumping.

Earlier his usually andante tenor saxophone phrasing synchronizes Cool saxists such as Stan Getz, his Bop antecedents like George Coleman, and – on “I Only Have Eyes for You”, with Swallow outputting tasty fills as if he was a six-string guitarist – Forest Flower-era Charles Lloyd.

More noteworthy are his soprano saxophone forays, especially on the title track where his swooping and trilling cadences turn to intense obbligatos. Legato, his timbre doesn’t disturb, but neither is it wimpy. Meanwhile Swallow accompanies it with flat-picking strums as if Liebman is a singer-songwriter not a jazz instrumentalist.

Liebman’s own “The Jewish Warrior” introduced with chirping tones, makes it sound as if the combatant in question is a Japanese samurai not a Hebrew fighter. Before the saxophonist ends the tune with a display of traverse triple-tonguing, its middle section finds him outputting moderato soprano lines that swerve to shadow Nussbaum’s frequent tempo changes.

A metric chameleon, the drummer never lets the beat escape or turn around. Yet while maintaining a steady pulse, he introduces rhythmic variations including Latin inferences, pumping shuffles and basic bounces. Cross sticking and cross pumping, his teamwork with Swallow is such that only rarely do you realize that the bassist is actually walking.

No swan song for spent heroes or record of the next hot thing, Three For All impresses with the almost effortless competence and musicality of We Three.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. What Time Is It 2. Played Twice 3. We 3 4. Up and Adam 5. The Jewish Warrior 6. Whistling Past the Graveyard 7. I Only Have Eyes for You 8. Cycling 9. All Blues 10. The Start of Something Small 11. BTU

Personnel: Dave Liebman (tenor and soprano saxophones and flute); Steve Swallow (electric bass); Adam Nussbaum (drums)

November 14, 2006

David Liebman

The Distance Runner
hatOLOGY 628

By Ken Waxman

New York-based saxophonist David Liebman is the epitome of the self-aware contemporary saxophonist: conspicuously primed for any situation.

Veteran of hundreds of recordings, with an apprenticeship in drummer Elvin Jones' and trumpeter Miles Davis' bands, not only has he flirted with mainstream jazz, chamber music, fusion, and free playing, but his worldwide teaching activities have included time spent at universities and giving clinics, as well as authorship of books on harmony, melody, and developing a personal saxophone style.

Despite this renown, the sixty-year-old reedist continues to challenge himself, whether it's playing with Hungarian big bands, small Latin jazz groups, in free-form duos, or on this memorable CD. The Distance Runner—the title is pretty apt—captures Liebman's first-ever public solo concert. Recorded at the Willisau Jazz Festival in Switzerland, it features his soprano and tenor saxophones and wooden flute on seven longish tracks.

Honouring his saxophone heroes on three tracks, "The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner: Mind and Body" (Steve Lacy), "Petite Fleur" (Sidney Bechet) and "Peace on Earth" (John Coltrane), Liebman also defines his own parameters. He's a consolidator, rather than an innovator, and a melodist as well, rather than an abstractionist like Lacy or Coltrane.

In essence, this CD is an essay on how to construct a solo concert without frightening any but the most reactionary. Throughout, Liebman's well-paced, undulating lines are often low-pitched, with a gentle almost Lester Young-ish tone on both saxophones. When he growls and/or breaks up his output, Liebman quickly reverts to legato phrasing. Invariably, as well, he ends most tunes with a showy cadenza to let the audience know he's completed his thoughts and is ready for applause. Conventionally, he backs into the themes of "Fleur" and "Peace," expressing his honking, double-tonguing and false register variations at the top so that he can downshift into an unbroken mellowness when he plays the heads.

This doesn't preclude experimentation, however. On "Mother; Father," for instance, before bringing out his tenor saxophone for well-modulated pitch vibrations, he showcases melismatic phrasing, as his wooden flute vibrates with Oriental colours, as if it was a ba-hu or a zheng. Some of the other pieces emphasize the metallic qualities of his saxophones.

Most spectacularly, the almost-sixteen-minute "Time Immemorial: Before, Then, Now, After" finds him commenting with Tranesque cadences on the background reproduction of an earlier recording of him playing four overdubbed alto saxophones. Utilized as found sounds, those enjoined sax lines are tweaked to provide twisted pulsations and buzzing broken octave oscillations. On top of all this, the live saxman essays different strategies: at one point moderated split tones, and at another wandering coloratura lines. Before he lets reverberate a finale of gently packed legato timbres he puts out a selection of shrill, almost ear-splitting falsetto whistles.

This out-of-character willingness to produce the unexpected shows that in spite of conventional manners, Liebman sustains the impulses of a committed, ever-searching improviser.

In MusicWorks Issue #95

June 26, 2006

DOM MINASI

Quick Response
CDM Records CDM 1005

AL ASHLEY
These Are Them
Jazzand 1001

Blues and funk don’t have to be the only music played by an organ combo as these sessions led by veteran jazzers demonstrate. If anything, both are reminiscent of the pre-Jimmy Smith sax-guitar-organ dates that were more concerned with swinging than sounding churchy. Certainly both dual keyboard men -- Kyle Koehler on QUICK and Oliver Von Esson on THESE -- seem to relate more to Swing era organists like Wild Bill Davis or post-boppers like Larry Young than the funk crowd.

Another link between the two CDs is that while another instrumentalist is the leader, much of the attention relates to the sax chair. QUICK is another session by guitarist Dom Minasi, whose spectacular comeback in the late 1990s sometimes obscures the fact that his fine mainstream picking is a logical extension into freebop of the subtle experimentation Jim Hall and Tal Farlow were fiddling with in the 1950s and 1960s. His reed partner here is Mark Whitecage, a seasoned outcat more often found in the company of German vibist Gunter Hampel or in so-called downtown groups with the likes of trombonist Steve Swell.

A journeyman, who backed a clutch of Swing and Bop greats from pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Louie Bellson to vibist Milt Jackson and saxophonist Al Cohn, THESE is drummer Al Ashley’s long overdue debut CD that features heavyweight help from first-class reedist Dave Liebman. The soprano and tenor saxophonist is now known as much for his incisive teaching skills as his earlier stints with the bands of Elvin Jones and Miles Davis among others. Young guitarist Rick Stone fills out the Ashley aggregation and young drummer John Bollinger is the fourth member of the Minasi mob.

Both discs are pretty good, but neither rises to top rank. QUICK is hampered by the inclusion of too many standards and Minasi’s inexplicable decision to follow jam session convention and give every player a solo on every track. Made up of all original material, THESE could easily have been recorded by jazz/studio pros in the 1960s. This isn’t a knock, for playing as if smooth jazz and fusion never existed is a good thing. What isn’t a good thing is on many tracks Stone’s guitar is under-recorded, nearly vanishing beneath organ chords. This is doubly puzzling since Stone also engineered, mixed and mastered the session -- you figure he would have punched up his sound in the mix.

Unlike Minasi’s earlier discs no one track on this CD really stands out. If you want to hear his deliberate debt to Wes Montgomery, there’s “I Who Have Nothing”, where he knowingly replicates a version of Montgomery’s signature octave work on the old Ben E. King R&B classic, while Koehler produces double-times high frequency accompaniment.

“When Your Dreams Come True”, written by the guitarist, is a mellow ballad which sounds as if it could have been recorded by Johnny Smith 50 years ago. Studio musician Smith, who more-or-less retired in the early 1960s, was known for smooth recasting of jazz and pop standards. His best-known playing partner was Stan Getz, and in a move that might shock the altoist’s avant-garde followers, here Whitecage roll out a vocalized melody line sounding for all the world like Getz or Paul Desmond.

The organist backs both soloists with billowing absorbent chords, turning to throbbing cadences on the title tune to match Minasi’s speedy chromatic runs and slurred strumming. Altoist Lou Donaldson -- in his bop days -- appears to be the model for Whitecage here. Meanwhile Bollinger’s breaks are made up of restrained flams and bounces.

Then there’s “Dizzy Lizzie”, a contrafact of “Take the A Train”, which follows a pleasant unison head from the guitarist and saxist with shifting single note reverberation from Minasi that lets notes quake and echo. Koehler’s double-timing licks on two keyboards move this old-fashioned, but exciting swinger along. There are more outside touches in other places, including Morse code-like comping fromthe organist, irregularly vibrated trills from the reedist and chromatic picking from the guitarist.

Ashley, who has waited all his life to make his record debut, doesn’t overpower the others with percussion work. As a matter of fact some of the most impressive soloing comes from Von Esson whose unforced touch suggests pianistic roots.

This is most apparent on “Fats Write” and “Blue Note”, both Ashley originals. Named for a friend and mentor of the drummer, keyboardist Fats Wright, the first tune rides on Von Esson’s flowing, high frequency touch and sense of circumscribed dynamics. While he can play double counterpoint from the two keyboards, the organist never resorts to full-bore climatic excesses. Liebman’s lighter-than-air approach helps make the tune a bit more than a mid-tempo bop line as do the drummer’s rebounds and drags.

“Blue Note”, named for that record label’s 1960s heyday, actually sounds both more modern and more antique than the music being recorded at that time. Von Esson’s straightahead bobbing glissandi resembles what Wild Bill Davis would have produced on a pipe organ on a Swing Era session, while the saxman’s light tenor tone recalls Charles Lloyd mixed with Lester Young. Again the composer confines himself to cymbal snaps and press rolls. Other pieces range from a waltz to a samba to a couple that boarder on funk. Meanwhile, except for extended obbligatos at points, Liebman perfectly integrates himself into the quartet.

More extensive reed showcases appear on Stone’s “Relative Minority” and the reedist’s own “Look At What We Do To Ourselves”. Few audible pauses for breath are noticeable in Liebman’s flowing run through of the former on tenor. Relying on reed biting and emphasized tones he crams many more notes than seem possible into every bar. Finale is a series of breaks, linking Ashley with, in sequence, the saxist, the composer -- who can’t be heard very loudly -- and finally the organist before the head is reprised.

““Look At What…” the CD’s final and longest piece at almost nine minutes, finds Von Esson contributing cascading arpeggios to match the low-key theme mostly expressed in unflamboyant sluices by its composer. Tempo picks up when Liebman introduces some multiphonic squeals in its final couple of minutes, but the track fades out before a true resolution.

Listeners impressed by unconventional organ combos would be wise to seek out these discs. Just realize that the quartets haven’t yet realized their full potential. Happily, it seems that might happen next time out.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Quick: 1. What Is Thing Called Love 2. Feels Like Rain In China 3. For My Father 4. Quick Response 5. I Who Have Nothing 6. Into The Night 7. Dizzy Lizzie 8. When Your Dreams Come True 9. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Personnel: Quick: Mark Whitecage (alto saxophone); Dom Minasi (guitar); Kyle Koehler (organ); John Bollinger (drums)

Track Listing: These: 1. Blue Note 2. These Are Them 3. Perfect Day 4. The Other Time 5. Relative Minority 6. Fats Write 7. Look At What We Do To Ourselves

Personnel: These: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones); Rick Stone (guitar); Oliver Von Esson (organ); Al Ashley (drums)

February 28, 2005

ABBEY RADER & DAVE LIEBMAN

Cosmos
Cadence Jazz Records CJR 1158

ISGLEM
Fire
NORCD 0343

Created two months apart in the widely divergent climates of steamy Florida and chilly Norway, the music of the two proficient duos here has more in common than either would have imagined at the time.

Americans, saxophonist and flautist Dave Liebman and drummer and percussionist Abbey Rader are two of the most technically proficient musicians around. Both -- Liebman especially -- are celebrated for teaching master classes, writing instructional manuals and participating in numberless instrumental clinics for younger musicians. At the same time both are full-time players, committed to the exploratory sounds identified with John Coltrane and Elvin Jones. Liebman was in Jones’ band in the early 1970s, while Rader played in the late pianist Mal Waldron’s groups and partnered with violinist Billy Bang.

Norwegians, tenor saxophonist and ram’s horn player Karl Seglem and percussionist Terje Isungset spend a lot of time in schools too, usually introducing their band Isglem’s mixture of local folk music, Free Jazz and modern European sounds to pre-university age students. Seglem’s associations include work with ethnic ensembles emphasizing voices and the indigenous Hardanger fiddle; while Isungset crafts his own instruments from Norwegian natural elements such as Arctic birch, granite, slate, sheep bells, and even ice.

You would think that the American spiritual tradition -- jazz division -- is most congruent to the Norwegian shamanistic tradition -- improv style. At least it should be clear on the moody “Norwegian Fisherman” played by Liebman on indigenous flute and Rader on what sounds like primitive hand percussion. Still, you’d only be partially right. For while the extended penny whistle-like intonation Liebman creates may suggest Scandinavian bleakness, Rader’s West- African percussion strain also fits Isglem’s music as it does Liebman and Rader’s. Isglem isn’t a folk music band after all.

For instance, compare many of the Trane-influenced extended tracks on COSMOS with “Smileg”, at fewer than six minutes the longest track on FIRE. Here Seglem spits out growling, screeching split tones, creating sympathetic horn vibrations, while Isungset’s relentless rhythm builds to a crescendo that recalls African log drumming as much as the Scandinavian tradition. On “Egslim”, moreover, the tenor’s sheets of sound and drummer’s rat-tat tats are definitely in the Trane-Elvin tradition.

Then there’s “Egsmil”, with Isungset initially on a regular kit producing a standard jazz-style beat, matched with Seglem’s surprisingly brassy tenor saxophone, expanded with droning screeches. The percussion response arises from double-handed bells, small percussive instruments and shattered cymbal beats.

By the same token, one can’t overvalue the band’s jazz values though. During the course of the less than 37-minute CD there are enough Viking throat growls and yells, intensified and deepening ram’s horn assaults and distinctly rural Scandinavian pitches to almost satisfy finicky World music fanciers. Alternately, Isglem also shows enough individuality with its use of abstruse electronic tones and extended techniques suggesting electric guitar and bass clarinet textures that some of its tunes would stand World music purists’ hairs on edge.

By the same token Liebman and Rader aren’t your standard jazzers either. While the saxist may hear the head of “Off A Bird of having a bebop feel in honor of Charlie Parker, the two obviously aren’t thinking of Wynton Marsalis’ Charlie Parker. Their Bird tribute includes powerful rolls, slides and drags from the snares and cymbals plus nasal, irregular vibrations, resonating slurs and reed-biting screams and squeals.

Trane and his followers were also known for being able to play at great length, and with a CD that’s approximately twice the duration of Isglem’s these two fit the mould. At the same time, Liebman’s airy flute tone and ethereal soprano sax separate him from Trane, and his tenor playing, technically at least, goes beyond the older man’s influence.

During the course of four versions of “Short Call” for instance, Liebman tone speedily moves from joyously questing to sombre and balladic, and from honking multiphonics to intense obbligatos. He pugnaciously triple tongues when he desires and turns excessively pastoral when the sounds demand it. Meantime, Rader accompanies him not only with pile driver rhythms when needed, but also with oblique bell shaking, much different from Isungset’s though.

Even the Trane-composed tunes that close the program don’t lose their timeless balladic qualities among Liebman’s double tonguing and slurring. They remain stately and processional -- and in the case of the coda to (fittingly) “Peace On Earth”, sunny and serene.

In music as in faith, there are many ways to seek the truth and these duos have discovered two of the paths.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Cosmos: 1. Introduction 2. Cosmos 3. Off A Bird 4. Short Call 1 5. Short Call 2 6. Short Call 3 7. Short Call 4 8. Norwegian Fisherman 9. Expression 10. The Drum Thing 11. Peace on Earth

Personnel: Cosmos: Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophone, ram’s horn, electronics, voice); Abbey Rader (drums, percussion)

Track Listing: Fire: 1. Glemis 2. Melsie 3. Glimse 4. Egsmil 5. Siglemto 6. Egslim 7. Misgel 8. Lgisme 9. Smileg 10. Legmis 11. Imgles 12. Emglis

Personnel: Fire: Karl Seglem (tenor saxophone, ram’s horn, electronics, voice); Terje Isungset (drums, percussion, ram’s horn, voice)

August 11, 2003

JOHN HOLLENBECK

No Images
CRI Blueshift 2002

JOHN HOLLENBECK
Quartet Lucy
CRI Blueshift 2003

JOHN HOLLENBECK
The Claudia Quartet
CRI Blueshift 2004

Moving among improv, big band jazz, New music and song-based material, percussionist/composer John Hollenbeck has made a name for himself in New York over the past half-decade. During that time, Hollenbeck, who also has a master’s degree from Rochester’s Eastman School of Music has worked with folks as varied as dancer/composer Meredith Monk, arranger Bob Brookmeyer, “downtown” trumpeter Cuong Vu and Klezmer brassman Frank London.

Taken together, these three new CDs impressively illuminate the diversity of his compositional and playing skills. But enough insubstantial music appears on them to prevent coming up with the highest rating for the entire oeuvre.

Most problematic, especially from a jazz point of view, is the Quartet Lucy disc. Even acknowledging that the drummer has characterized his vision as taking in elements of both jazz and classical music -- and what a murky Third Stream that is to swim in -- most of the tunes of this project seem too precious and wimpy.

Chief irritant is the singing voice of Theo Bleckmann, an acquired taste at best. With a timbre that resembles that of a counter-tenor or a castrato, he adds even more of a lacy front parlor feel to the 10 tunes here. Defenders would point out that the song-oriented results are skewed more towards the concepts of Meredith Monk rather than Thelonious Monk or the Monkees. But the frothy sheen of slow-moving wordless vocalizing and continuous held notes lean more towards easy listening.

When words are added to the equation, as on “The Music of Life” and “Dreams for Tomorrow” the banalities of the sentiments don’t help. On the latter, which Bleckmann begins singing in a more conventional register, returns to the castrato region once Skuli Sverrison begins plucking his bajo sexto. Sverrison’s ethereal, Pat Metheny-style electric bass forays don’t help other numbers, nor do Dan Willis’ contributions on very legit-sounding English horn and flute.

The main argument against this session is that these saccharine touches detract from Hollenbeck’s pointed percussion excursions most of the time. It’s hard to know whether “Jazz Envy” with its go-man-go electric bass work, tough tenor sax solo and stiff drum beat is supposed to be a parody of the music, like John Zorn’s “Jazz Snob Eat Shit” t-shirt. If it is, parodying the music with a 19th century concept doesn’t prove much.

More of a showcase for the percussionist’s versatility is NO IMAGES, which features him in five different situations in six tracks. Very quickly passing over another track with Bleckmann and even sparser accompaniment, your ears should be directed to “The Drum Major Instinct”, Hollenbeck’s major achievement. Conceived of during his final year at Eastman, the nearly 25 minute long composition pairs the taped voice of Martin Luther King Jr. with three trombonists and the drummer. Functioning as both the church choir and a congregation energized by King’s sermon, the bones add rumble, slur, flutter and plunger sounds to his works, following the pitch and cadence of the minister’s voice.

Vehement in execution as King denounces the war in Vietnam and the White Citizens Council with equal fervor, the trombone choir and drums not only recall those sounds provided by a Sanctified combo, but the emotions stirred up the statements. Direct, percussive and to the point, Hollenbeck’s writing and playing makes concrete the link between the sermon’s title and his art.

Almost as impressive are the tracks which feature the drummer dueting with either tenor saxophonist Dave Liebman or tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, or those two plus tenor saxophonist Rick DiMuzio.

Top rank here should go to the mano-a-mano stop-and-start blow out with Eskelin. Using his deep breathing, abstract tones -- and overtones -- to spur the drummer to investigate all parts of his kit from miniscule cymbal and triangle tickles to protracted press rolls and bass drum accents. With a harder, heavier tone than Eskelin and an approach that’s closer to the Energy music of the 1960s, Liebman growls, squeals and frog marches through the tempos as the drummer tastefully smashes and bangs at full speed and strength to keep up.

Variegated tempos and techniques enliven the more than 10 minute “Bluegreenyellow” as Hollenbeck sticks to a pulsating rhythmic line with percussive accents to face off against all three saxes at once. Parrying and thrusting, each reedman takes turns stepping up front to solo, with the others acting as a sort of Greek chorus. All and all the satisfying outcome sounds vaguely martial, though it does end rather suddenly.

For pure consistency, the music of the Claudia Quintet, which performs well-received club gigs throughout Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is most convincing. But even here a certain sameness creeps into the almost 68 minutes of the disc.

While some of the city’s most accomplished downtowners are featured -- reedman Chris Speed, accordionist Ted Reichman, vibist Matt Moran and bassist Drew Gress -- the George-Shearing-meets-the-Bowery band could do with some tougher charts and execution.

“Thursday 11:14am (grey)”, for instance, the longest track, is suffused with the sort of echoing melancholy you can find around Ground Zero these days. Between the languorous clarinet tones, tiny drumbeats and the shimmer of vibes using almost no vibrato, the effect is almost lighter than air. In the end the tune moves so slowly that you can almost sense it vanishing into thin air.

Oddly, considering its usual place in an ensemble, it’s the bass solo in “No D”, which speeds up the tempo and pushes the vibes and drums into more regular foot-patting rhythm after Hollenbeck and Moran individually have turned out restrained percussion prologues. Speed’s spikier tenor sound and Reichman’s swirling keys and bellows add to the new mood. On “Visions of Claudia” the clarinetist toys with multiphonics after he’s stated the melody in mid-register. Hollenbeck’s military-style tattoo advances the tune, with accordion chords cushioning the exposition.

This triptych of releases certainly illustrates the three faces of John and what he can do is in his many personas. Portending well for the percussionist’s future as a multi-talent, they suggest that tying all the personalities together may one day allow him to aurally paint his masterpiece.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Claudia: 1. meinetwegen 2. a-b-s-t-i-n-e-n-c-e 3. Love Song for Kate 4. Thursday 7:30pm (holy) 5. Thursday 11:14am (grey) 6. Thursday 3:44pm (playground) 7. Burt and Ken 8. ...after a dance or two, we sit down for a pint with Gil and Tim... 9. No D 10. Visions of Claudia

Personnel: Claudia: Chris Speed (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Ted Reichman (accordion); Matt Moran (vibraphone, percussion); Drew Gress (bass); John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion)

Track Listing: Lucy: 1.Vanishing Lucy 2. ethel 3. Foreva 4. materna 5. dreams for tomorrow^ 6. Constant Conversation (8:29) 7.Chapel flies* 8. jazz envy 9. Vira-folha* 10. The Music of Life

Personnel: Lucy: Dan Willis (tenor and soprano saxophone, flute, English horn); Jonas Tauber (cello)*; Skuli Sverrison (electric bass, bajo sexto)^; John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion, piano, berimbau^); Theo Bleckmann (voice, piano^)

Track Listing: No: 1. Bluegreenyellow#^+& 2. Without morning 3. Liebman/Hollenbeck Vignettes+ 4. The Drum Major Instinct*~ 5. Eskelin/Hollenbeck Vignettes^ 6. No images$

Personnel: No: Tim Sessions*, David Taylor*, Ray Anderson* (trombones); Rick DiMuzio#, Ellery Eskelin^, David Liebman+ (tenor saxophones); Ben Monder (guitar%); John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion, laughter samples and autoharp with portable fan$); Theo Bleckmann (voice%); Martin Luther King Jr. (voice on tape~)

January 8, 2002