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Dave Liebman Quartet Live at Anthology
by Robert Bush
Dave Liebman Quartet Anthology San Diego, CA September 23, 2010 Soprano saxophone master Dave Liebman kicked off a short West Coast tour Thursday evening at Anthology, San Diego's premiere jazz nightclub. Liebman is experimenting with a more electrified version of his working ensemble (of over 20 years now), to that end, long-time bassist Tony Moreno was heard on electric bass all night. Liebman's front-line partner in the quartet is the vastly under-rated guitar virtuoso ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman / Evan Parker/ Tony Bianco: Relevance
by Jerry D'Souza
Saxophonists Dave Liebman and Evan Parker have established careers as improvisers of the first order. Both are visionaries unafraid of taking risks, and fathoming unusual territory. Their impulses may be driven by fragments or lengthy declamations, but in the end they wrap it up with cohesive logic. The high level of skill is evident on this CD, recorded live at the Vortex in London for a BBC broadcast. Liebman had long wanted to play with Parker, and his ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman: Live / As Always and Quest for Freedom
by John Kelman
Quite possibly the hardest-working saxophonist--if not the hardest working musician, period--these days, not a month goes by when there doesn't seem to be a new release from veteran jazzer Dave Liebman.In the twelve months since autumn 2009 alone, Liebman has been spotted in freer terrain, collaborating with another active saxophonist, Evan Parker, on Relevance (Red Toucan, 2010), and drummer Michael Stephans on Nomads (ITMP, 2009), while mining the modern mainstream with the collective super group Contact ...
Continue ReadingDave Liebman: Live/As Always
by Bruce Lindsay
Dave Liebman, whether in the role of leader or sideman, works across styles and genres with an open mind and inventive approach. Live/As Always finds the saxophonist in top form, working with his 18-piece Big Band on a set of six original compositions. The band, directed by Gunnar Mossblad, is also at the top of its game and the arrangements, produced by five different arrangers including Mossblad, are fresh and stylistically varied. The album was recorded live--four ...
Continue ReadingContact: Dave Liebman / John Abercrombie / Marc Copland / Drew Gress / Billy Hart: Five On One
by Dan Bilawsky
The practice of forming super groups in jazz can be fraught with disaster. Festival promoters often try to draw audiences by lumping musicians together in all-star settings, but a lack of chemistry, familiarity, common ground or interest, often turns these events into yawn-inducing bores. All four of these boundaries, thankfully, don't come into play with Contact--the collaborative quintet responsible for Five On One. Saxophonist Dave Liebman, guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress and drummer ...
Continue ReadingContact: Dave Liebman / John Abercrombie / Marc Copland / Drew Gress / Billy Hart: Five on One
by Dan McClenaghan
The band called Contact is about as all-star an affair as can be found in modern jazz, and it's hard to imagine any serious listener not having a favorite among the players, whether it's saxophonist and renaissance man Dave Liebman, pianist Marc Copland--whose marvelous New York Trio Recordings pushed his profile up closer to where it belongs--ECM Records stalwart/guitarist John Abercrombie, veteran drummer Billy Hart, or ubiquitous super sideman/bassist Drew Gress. Five on One burns brightly, with a highly cohesive ...
Continue ReadingContact: Dave Liebman / John Abercrombie / Marc Copland / Drew Gress / Billy Hart: Five on One
by John Kelman
They've played together in various permutations and combinations, but Five on One represents the first time they've joined together as a discrete unit. Reconvening the Second Look (Savoy, 1996) quartet--which comprises four-fifths of Contact-- pianist Marc Copland proved you can go back again with Another Place (Pirouet, 2009). The quartet's bassist, Drew Gress, has also been a longstanding member of Copland's piano trio, last heard on Night Whispers: New York Trio Recordings Vol. 3 (Pirouet, 2009). Its drummer, Billy Hart, ...
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