Dave Liebman's Aggressive Saxophone at the Jazz Standard

[7/4]

April 22, 2006

Jazz Review

Dave Liebman's Aggressive Saxophone at the Jazz Standard

By BEN RATLIFF, NYT

The saxophonist Dave Liebman absorbed jazz in the mid-1960's. Then, in the 70's, in bands led by Elvin Jones and Miles Davis and on his own as a bandleader, he really began to apply what he had learned. These aren't neutral facts of circumstance: the sounds of those times — in timbre, instrumentation, composition and soloing style — exert a powerful force on his music. If one were to make a study of what jazz in the 70's really was — rather than focus on its perceived failings, which is how most people approach it — Mr. Liebman might be a good starting place.

On Tuesday at the Jazz Standard he played with his regular quartet, including the guitarist Vic Juris, the bassist Tony Marino and the drummer Marco Marcinko. Except for the drummer, this has been a steady group for 15 years. It's a surprisingly loud band, and the set was full of demonstrative writing and playing that could sometimes be a little overeager or literal-minded; the performance was aggressive, even when the compositions suggested something mellow and pensive.

Mr. Juris's "Shorty George" began with misty guitar chords, and there was a gradual coming together of the band in free rhythm and then, with Mr. Liebman on tenor saxophone, the emergence of a folkish melody. Mr. Juris used some electronic processing on his guitar, and got into the country- and blues-influenced tonal world that Larry Coryell, Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell, among other guitarists, have shared. Later, Mr. Juris brought out a nylon-string acoustic for Mr. Liebman's piece "Breath."

Mr. Marcinko played a lot of different rhythms and textures: Elvin Jones-type swing, odd-metered rhythm, mallets and brushes; he changed up his sound not only during solos but during ensemble sections of the set's more freely arranged tunes. It was only Mr. Marino whose role, in a few vamp-heavy pieces, could feel restricted.

But it was Mr. Liebman who really took over after the first song. Playing mostly soprano, he used a bright, urgent, hustling sound, sometimes intentionally harsh and squeaky, even over pretty changes; he showed an impressive grasp of harmony, playing sprays of notes over and around chords. On a few pieces he got into a dialogue with Mr. Marcinko's ride cymbal, demonstrating some of the interplay learned from close listening to John Coltrane's quartet.

In "Coincidence" he played rapid, pecking, Eric Dolphy-ish lines. And for the modal piece "Anubis" he produced a small wooden flute. He played it not in the mournful way you might expect from a jazz musician of his generation in a song dedicated to an Egyptian deity — the recognizable I-am-small-within-the-universe feeling — but with an inflated, outgoing facility. His mission, finally, was entertainment.

The Dave Liebman Quartet continues through Thursday night at the Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232.

[DukeCity]

Quoting Ben Ratliff:

"His mission, finally, was entertainment."

WTF?

That's not to say that I am not entertained when I see/hear Liebman and his groups perform. But I never for a moment feel like that is his mission. I think the 'entertainment' is a happy by-product of his consistently passionate approach to creating great music with the other musicians on the bandstand.

edit: to clarify that the quote is from Ratliff, not from 7/4.

Edited April 23, 2006 by DukeCity

[7/4]

edit: to clarify that the quote is from Ratliff, not from 7/4.

Yea...he says dumb shit sometimes.

[JSngry]

If one were to make a study of what jazz in the 70's really was — rather than focus on its perceived failings, which is how most people approach it...

Yeah, well, that's why we're where we're at today.