Jazz Articles about Dave Liebman

like 338

Dave Liebman: Picture Show / Different but the Same

by Donald Elfman
October 8, 2005

Dave Liebman, on two very different recordings, shows himself to be both a master of his instruments and a sonic explorer of the deepest intensity. Of course, this is no new revelation--from his work with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones to his own often brilliant recordings, he has played with expanding the role of the reed instruments in jazz by caring an awful lot about sound. “Different but the same might be said of all his playing--it's in and out ...

like 532

Dave Liebman Group: Conversation

by John Kelman
September 4, 2005

When an artist has as a wide musical viewpoint as saxophonist Dave Liebman, and has released so many albums in a 35-year career that touch on so many aspects of jazz--big band to solo, highly structured to free, acoustic to electric--one would think that there'd be little chance of surprise left.

Wrong. Released in '03, Conversation--featuring his steady '90s group with guitarist Vic Juris, bassist Tony Marino and, in this case, drummer/percussionist Marko Marcinko substituting for quartet regular Jamey Haddad--has ...

like 434

Steve Smith/Dave Liebman/Aydin Esen/Anthony Jackson: Flashpoint

by John Kelman
August 26, 2005

You have to admire saxophonist Dave Liebman. With over fifty albums as a leader, he has built an impressive and varied body of work that has touched upon a wealth of styles. This year alone he's released an album with pianist Phil Markowitz, straddling the line between complex composition and more liberated free play (Manhattan Dialogues); a twin tenor encounter with Ellery Eskelin, where the two find surprising common ground (Different But the Same); and a recording that posits Alec ...

like 397

David Liebman: Lieb Plays Wilder

by John Kelman
August 17, 2005

Saxophonist Dave Liebman has covered a lot of territory in a career now well into its fourth decade, but his approach has never resembled anything conventional. Much has been written about Liebman mining territory first explored by Coltrane; and in his expressionist approach that is nevertheless capable of rich subtlety, the lineage is clear. Towards the untimely end to his life, Coltrane travelled inexorably away from structure into extended improvisations that had little in the way of conventional foundation, but ...

like 267

Dave Liebman & Phil Markowitz: Manhattan Dialogues

by John Kelman
July 21, 2005

Most musicians are fortunate enough to find one musical partner where such shared simpatico exists that they can evolve in perfect tandem--exploring a variety of contexts with the kind of comfort level that ensures complete trust and an unfettered imagination that makes no pursuit beyond reach. To find more than one is rare indeed. Saxophonist Dave Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach's 20-year-plus relationship, well-documented on last year's Mosaic Select 12 box of archival live recordings, saw them approach everything from ...

like 239

Live Recordings 2005

by Mark F. Turner
July 19, 2005

The ambience and energy of live jazz is best experienced in person, but if you can't make the event to see your artist of interest, then these new recordings may be the next best thing. From varied settings, locals, and ensembles they give an audible glimpse of what live jazz has to offer.

Terry Gibbs Feelin' Good: Live in Studio Mack Avenue Records 2005

Octogenarian vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, who has performed on countless studio ...

like 268

Dave Liebman and Phil Markowitz: Manhattan Dialogues

by Dennis Hollingsworth
July 6, 2005

Dave Liebman and Phil Markowitz are no strangers to the jazz public, particularly as members of the New York scene. Actively performing and recording together for over ten years, their longevity continues a pattern favored by Liebman. Pianist Richie Bierach was Liebman's longtime collaborator in the '70s and '80s. On Manhattan Dialogues, the duo's indisputable familiarity pays great dividends. All of the necessary elements for creating highly evolved music are here: advanced technical ability, cutting-edge harmonic understanding, spectacular imagination, tremendous ...