By Petter Wettre
This book of transcriptions is something a bit more than the usual. Petter Wettre, one of Norway’s top saxophonists had studied with Liebman and like many of his generation was entranced by the Elvin Jones group recording “Live at the Lighthouse” which featured Steve Grossman, bassist Gene Perla and Lieb. This recording has become a classic, especially among saxohonists as it is a primer in the post Coltrane vocabulary of that time. With painstaking care, Petter transcribed all of Grossman and Lieb’s solos, which offer great insight into a language that has become a mainstay of saxophonists since that time.
Transcriptions of:
Fancy Free
New Breed
Sambra
Taurus People
Sweet Mama
I’m A Fool To Want You
The Children, Save The Children
Brite Piece
Children’s Merry-Go-Round
For All Those Other Times
JERRY BERGONZI
With the greatest drummer ever, this record was a high point which set the direction and tone for young tenor players. It was the new way.
BILL EVANS
That was a classic and pivitol recording for me, and the music was so intense and played so hard that I was just floored. A completely modern style – you could feel the intensity in that record.
GEORGE GARZONE
This record is an example of the next generation of Coltrane fanatics, and the legacy lives on.
STEVE GROSSMAN
It’s a good record. I always get, “It’s a great record, etc.” It was always very stimulating to play with Elvin. It was the first live thing we did, and I felt generally good about the music.
PAT LABARBERA
Referring to patterns that Trane had worked out, Steve and David’s lines were so great. An important landmark.
DAVID LIEBMAN
The “Live At The Lighthouse” date was one of the most exciting nights of my musical life. The energy and enthusiasm of a working band consisting of three young musicians with one of the greatest masters of all time was for all of us a once in a lifetime event that we will never forget.
JOE LOVANO
That quartet was such a strong beautiful focus as a collective ensemble that it gave me a lot of direction at that time. The way that those four cats played together was very compositional with beautiful interplay, and the weight of the energy was equal in the group.
BOB MINTZER
One of the consummate saxophone recordings. Ground-breaking on so many levels; the way the musicians related, the openness of the music. Great record.
CHRIS POTTER
Elvin Jones’ classic “Live at the Lighthouse” recordings have provided a generation of jazz musicians (myself definitely included) with tremendous inspiration and material for study. Liebman and Grossman raised the bar for what could be accomplished on the saxophone after assimilating the musical language of John Coltrane, and Elvin Jones was at the absolute peak of his powers. The joy these four musicians must have shared playing together still jumps out of the speakers at you, and it remains a shining example of jazz at its most vital.
