Articles by David Liebman
Steve Lacy: The Long Distance Runner
by David Liebman
The following is an excerpt from “Threads: Evocations & Echos" of Steve Lacy (Unfinished) by Guillaume Tarche (Editions Lenka lente, 2021). I can't say that I knew Steve personally that well. We did one duo concert in Italy which was interesting to say the least, a story in itself. But of course, being the king of the soprano saxophone meant I had to be familiar with his music and artistic process. He predates Shorter and Trane on soprano... ...
Continue ReadingLive Trane: Never Before, Never After
by David Liebman
NEA Jazz Master and much celebrated saxophonist, composer, bandleader, educator and author Dave Liebman recounts the life-changing experiences of witnessing live performances by John Coltrane as told to Dave Kaufman. I always say my epiphany was the first time I saw Coltrane in February of 1962 at Birdland. The fact that I even knew about Birdland at 15 years old was because I was invited to go there a few months earlier by some of the older guys ...
Continue ReadingJazz Education In The Century Of Change: Beyond The Music
by David Liebman
Question: What values does a jazz education offer beyond the music itself? \Artists have always had a supply and demand problem. Since time immemorial there have been more people with creative ideas than an audience to communicate them to, especially if the art demands more than a cursory attention span. In the current world of jazz education, the situation vis a vis graduating more and more of the most equipped musicians in history (every year more so) in stark contrast ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman: If I had $10 Million in the Bank!
by David Liebman
There's no question that I am going to get pinned to the mat, condemned for being close minded, negative, purist, sour grapes and definitely politically incorrect for what I am writing. It is very specific, concerned with jazz musicians being hired to play in pop situations. It is not about musically “crossing over" which is another topic. First of all, a few obvious points: Making a living playing creative music is hard enough without turning down good paying ...
Continue Reading
