David Liebman

Review

THE SCOTSMAN
Jim Gilchrist
Saxophonist Dave Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach celebrate half a century of collaboration by taking an improvisatory approach to short classical pieces by Mozart, Bach, Scriabin and others, plus movements from Bartok’s string quartets.
These are deeply considered, melancholy or mellifluous reimaginings, making for austere but engrossing listening. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 rides on the gently rocking cradle of Beirach’s piano and there are sad, spare deliberations on a Scriabin prelude. Two tender passacaglia-like tributes to departed friends see Liebman switching to flute for one, For Ernst.
It is when they venture into the thickets of the Bartok quartets that they create particularly haunting soundworlds, as in the sonorous piano mutterings and querulous sax in the fifth or ghostly austerity of the sixth, while a startling, Love Supreme-ish sax fanfares their take on the fourth before the piano rolls in.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
by Robert Farbey
Saxophonist Dave Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach celebrate half a century of collaboration by taking an improvisatory approach to short classical pieces by Mozart, Bach, Scriabin and others, plus movements from Bartok’s string quartets.
These are deeply considered, melancholy or mellifluous reimaginings, making for austere but engrossing listening. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 rides on the gently rocking cradle of Beirach’s piano and there are sad, spare deliberations on a Scriabin prelude. Two tender passacaglia-like tributes to departed friends see Liebman switching to flute for one, For Ernst.
It is when they venture into the thickets of the Bartok quartets that they create particularly haunting soundworlds, as in the sonorous piano mutterings and querulous sax in the fifth or ghostly austerity of the sixth, while a startling, Love Supreme-ish sax fanfares their take on the fourth before the piano rolls in.
JAZZ JOURNAL
by Dave Jones
An album for those interested in the junction between contemporary chamber jazz and mainly 20th century Western classical music, with a small helping of baroque, classical and very late romantic. The tracks here are largely arrangements by Beirach and Liebman of the original works, which, with the exception of the Schoenberg piece and the Bartok String Quartets, were piano pieces. It’s an ambitious album, particularly where the interpretations are reductions from the originals written for larger ensembles, but it’s hard to imagine two musicians better equipped to do this.
CD1 gently breaks in the listener with Beirach’s reflective solo piano introduction before Liebman takes the theme, and then the solos ensue. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 sounds positively melancholic in Beirach’s hands, as if it’s been transferred to the late 19th or early 20th century via Erik Satie and beyond to jazz. J.S. Bach’s Little Prelude No. 4 also translates nicely to the jazz context, as might be expected, also enjoying the benefit of extended harmony that the jazz context allows.
The album then works its way into the 20th century via a sprinkling of late 19th century. Quite strikingly, with the melody taken by sax, the Mompou sounds as though it could be a modern-day piece of media music, and Faure’s Pavane sounds equally at home in the jazz context. There’s a tune each written by Beirach and Liebman – For Ernst and For Walter, respectively, dedicated to two recently lost close friends.
Around the middle of CD1 and onwards I was hoping for more variety of tempo and rhythmic content, but it didn’t often arrive, which could make it a long disc for all but the most enthused niche listener.
CD2 is devoted entirely to interpretations of Bartok’s String Quartets, track 4 (his String Quartet No.4, 3rd Movement) being a highlight thanks to Beirach’s rhapsodic solo, although generally speaking I’m not so sure that reducing these pieces from four string players to piano and sax is such a great idea. Yes, the piano can cover the harmony that several of the string quartet might provide, and the sax cover the melody, but piano and sax alone are by nature likely to be less interesting in terms of texture than a string quartet. The interpretations here of course have substantial improvised content that the originals lack, but even so, it seems as though these reductions are indeed lesser than the originals.
UK VIBE
by Alan Musson
Sometimes the fusion of jazz with classical music can result in the bite being taken out of both genres. Over the years there have been many examples of such an unhappy union. However, there have been some attempts that have proved to be more successful. Gunther Schuller coined the term “Third Stream” almost sixty years ago when he drew together jazz luminaries of the time Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans and Jim Hall and paired them with the Contemporary String Quartet for the album ‘Jazz Abstractions’. Earlier, in 1957, the arch-serialist Milton Babbitt produced ‘All Set’ for a jazz ensemble that included Charles Mingus and Bill Evans and which was dedicated to Gunther Schuller. However, the piece that many think of as perhaps the first melding of jazz with classical music came in 1945 when Igor Stravinsky wrote the ‘Ebony Concerto’ for clarinettist Woody Herman. This was merely Stravinsky’s impression of jazz and there is not a moment of improvisation in the score.
More recently, Uri Caine has made great creative use of the possibilities afforded by reflecting upon the classical repertoire through a jazz lens. In 2017 pianist Bill Cunliffe released ‘BACHanalia’ and fellow pianist Brad Mehldau released ‘After Bach’ in 2018. July this year will see the release by British saxophonist Mark Lockheart of a collection of English church music. The latest in a long line of such musical fusions is this offering from Liebman and Beirach. New York saxophonist Liebman began taking classical piano lessons at the age of nine and by the time he was twelve was already working to master the saxophone. He credits seeing John Coltrane performing live at many venues around New York City as the starting point of a life-long affinity with jazz. Liebman was later to work in the group of one-time Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones.
The saxophonist’s association with pianist Beirach dates back to the early 1970s when they formed the group Lookout Farm, recording for the famed ECM label and A&M Records and undertaking tours of the U.S., Canada, India, Japan and Europe. Later they began working as a duo and in 1981 formed the group Quest. Beirach, also a native of New York, studied jazz and classical music. Both men have studied with the legendary jazz pianist Lennie Tristano. His piano style shows the influence of Art Tatum, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea and is also informed by his earlier classical training. Our intrepid duo first recorded together in 1975 on the album ‘Forgotten Fantasies’ which saw the saxophonist employing the then fashionable echoplex and phase shifter to add a new dimension to his prowess on the saxophone.
The current album is an altogether different affair, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of these two meeting, playing and recording music together. This two-CD set consists of seventeen masterpieces of classical music opening with a very delicate interpretation of Mozart’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 23, 2nd Movement’ and continues with pieces by Beethoven, Bach, Faure and Scriabin amongst others together with one piece each from both performers. The second disk is devoted to interpretations of various string quartets by Bartok and displays Liebman’s tenor saxophone in all its glory. The pianist references Bartok as a major influence on his language of modern jazz piano. It is impossible to pick musical highlights from this recording as each piece brings its own special gifts. The piano, as one would expect, is beautifully recorded and Liebman is especially effective on soprano saxophone. In addition to his customary tenor saxophone, we also get to hear C-flute. The recordings were all done in a studio in an old house in the forest of Zerkall near Nideggen, Germany. Beirach contributes an informative and detailed booklet note.
Don’t be at all concerned if you are not familiar with all of the original source material from which these improvisations are constructed, just simply sit back and enjoy the music. This is clearly a labour of love for the performers and is truly life-enhancing for the listener.