David Liebman

Review

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
by John Shand
★★★★½
The impetus was Sly and the Family Stone’s In Time from the 1973 album Fresh, crowned by Andy Newmark’s drumming. Miles Davis walked into the rehearsal room, played it to his band over and over, and told them that this was how he now wanted the music to sound. So the transition from electric Miles to funky Miles was made, with On the Corner becoming the phase’s pivotal record. Dave Liebman​ was Miles’ saxophonist, and he co-leads this project of re-exploring that music with fellow saxophonist Jeff Coffin. When they both are wailing on soprano (as on the On the Corner theme) there’s a fair chance your hair will stand on end. Of course the success or otherwise of the project was always dependent on the rhythm section, so Coffin and Liebman​ assembled about the wickedest​ combination imaginable: thrilling, witty bassist Victor Wooten​ and drummer Chester Thompson, with Chris Walters (keyboards) and James Dasilva​ (guitar) fleshing out the band. Liebman​ is in dazzling form, even bringing out his wood flute for the moody Wili​, and the band sizzles with an excitement level that, if it could be distilled​, would make a viable amphetamine.

JAZZTIMES
by Bill Meredith
Of the many debate-prompting releases from Miles Davis’ shape-shifting career, On the Corner (1972) may top the list. The trumpeter admitted the music was influenced by funk artists like James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone, the result being an album rooted more in rhythm than electric studio predecessors like Bitches Brew or Jack Johnson. The disc so influenced 53-year-old Nashville-based saxophonist Jeff Coffin that he assembled an all-star lineup to play material from it and surrounding Davis releases in 2015 at the venue 3rd & Lindsley—including the saxophonist from the On the Corner sessions, 72-year-old Dave Liebman.
Liebman’s spoken introduction leads to Joe Zawinul’s title composition to Davis’ 1969 gem In a Silent Way, highlighted by Chris Walters’ plaintive piano. The versatile keyboardist switches to Fender Rhodes as another up-and-coming Music City player, guitarist James DaSilva, recreates John McLaughlin’s lines in “On the Corner.” Coffin harmonizes with Liebman—both on soprano saxophone—amid the rhythmic torrent of bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Chester Thompson.
DaSilva, Thompson, and Wooten, arguably the most athletic fusion bassist since Jaco Pastorius, each get impressive solo interludes. Wooten’s harmonics display leads into the other On the Corner selection, a 12-minute version of “Black Satin” on which the saxophonists put forth stirring solos that incite the crowd. Hermeto Pascoal’s pastoral “Selim” (from Davis’ 1971 release Live-Evil) and Davis’ own strutting “IFE” (Big Fun, 1974) also help make this new On the Corner incarnation what every live album should be—the next best thing to having been there.

MIDWEST RECORD
by Chris Spector
Dave Liebman, the cat who was there might be the top liner here but the date was put together by Jeff Coffin who brought along Victor Wooten and Chester Thompson so as to make sure he could leave some impressive fingerprints on some pretty impressive work. With the vision of Liebman in full force on this date that was a turning point for Davis, do not mistake this for a trip down memory lane. The music here is as vital and full frontal as it ever was---and It's no recreation, it's the real thing on it's own terms. Killer grooves throughout.

UK VIBE
by Alan Musson
It seems appropriate that Dave Liebman should get top billing on this album, as he played on the first side of the original On the Corner which was released in 1972. Early in 1973, Liebman also joined Davis’s touring band. However, the current album is not a recreation of the music produced in 1972. This is more of an overview of the music that Miles Davis was producing during the period when he was beginning to produce an essentially collective music which focussed on multiple rhythms and textures. This was something that had its genesis in 1969 with the release of In a Silent Way.
After a spoken introduction about Davis and this period from the leader, it is the title track from that album which we hear first and which is performed with a kind of delicate intensity. This is a curtain-raiser for what follows which is indeed the title track from On the Corner. Here the heat increases greatly with the twin soprano saxophones of Liebman and Jeff Coffin going into battle.
‘Wili’ is next. Originally appearing on the Davis album Dark Magus from 1974, the version here opens with atmospheric keyboards from Chris Walters soon joined by the leader on wood flute and the rhythm team of Victor Wooten on bass and Chester Thompson at the drums putting down a rock steady beat. Soprano saxophone and flute in unison prove to be very effective here and it’s not long before we get to hear the guitar artistry of James DaSilva adding to the tension. This performance has a similarly atmospheric feel to ‘In a Silent Way’.
The various themes are interspersed with features for the band members and so a bass interlude is inserted between this and ‘Black Satin’ which readers will recognise as being on the original On the Corner. This is no slavish copy. Clearly the instrumentation differs. I particularly like the change in tempo around nine minutes in allowing Walters to shine again.
‘Selim’ which featured on Live-Evil from 1971, opens with a thoughtful piano introduction before a most delicate soprano saxophone interlude and some equally wonderful clarinet from Coffin. The unusual soprano/clarinet voicing is mesmerizing here and leads into a guitar interlude before the band return for ‘Ife’ from Big Fun released in 1974. This is moody, mysterious and intense music but never abandons the funky rhythmic bass and drum figures which hold the performance together. A drum interlude follows and the album is rounded out with a frantic ‘Mojo’ and, for me, the outstanding track from the album ‘Jean Pierre’ from We Want Miles, the most recent album represented on this collection dating from 1982. This is great fun and is a fantastic closer to this live set. Everyone seems to be having a great time and the electric saxophone of Coffin is particularly outstanding. This album succeeds in delivering a mix of jazz, funk, rock and fusion all expertly performed and so there should be something for every listener to enjoy during this hour or so of music-making.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ
by Vic Schermer
When the Miles Davis album On the Corner (Columbia, 1972) was released, Davis had already begun to engage in electronic instrumentation and jazz fusion with soon to be revered recordings: In A Silent Way (Columbia, 1969), Bitch’s Brew (Columbia, 1970) and Jack Johnson (Columbia, 1971). On the Corner, however, was so experimental and funky that it incurred the wrath of many critics and sales were minimal. Still, in the ensuing decades, it has come to be regarded as a pioneering work that anticipated and influenced not only the subsequent development of jazz but also hip-hop, jungle, post-rock, and other styles that have defined public taste and topped the popular music charts. On the album, Davis played electric organ more than trumpet, used musicians like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Don Alias, and John McLaughlin curiously without mentioning their names, and experimented with tape-splicing and electronic effects he picked up from avant-garde classical composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. What initially appeared to be Davis’ downfall proved to possess innovative power. On a larger cultural plane, the album embodied the flowering of the hippie era with its psychedelics and radical lifestyle, and especially in Davis’ own thoughts, the freeing of African American youth from entrenched traditions in music and lifestyle.
Dave Liebman was the saxophonist on that controversial album. A young upstart at the time, Liebman found his two year tenure in Davis’ band to be just the stimulus he needed to jump start his career and, after a stint with Elvin Jones, form his own iconic groups. Forty-plus years later, in 2015, one of Liebman’s admirers, fellow saxophonist Jeff Coffin, was inspired to invite him to Nashville to revisit On the Corner with musicians especially capable of capturing the essence of that recording. Liebman had already recorded a version with an ensemble of his own, Back on the Corner (Shrapnel, 2007; Mascot, 2015). Now in a period of his career where he was increasingly interacting with musicians beyond his inner circle, he found the invitation appealing. The result, just now released four years after it was recorded, is a tantalizing combination of the ingredients of the Davis album with Liebman’s own well-honed but always expanding musical approach and vocabulary.
Liebman provided arrangements of two songs from the Davis album: “On the Corner” and “Black Satin,” as well as Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul‘s “In a Silent Way” and several originals. Coffin recruited the additional musicians: Victor Wooten on electric bass, Chris Walters on keyboards, James DaSilva on guitar, and Chester Thompson on drums, all of whom demonstrate their resilience in adapting to the requirements of the electric funk genre. It was a live gig in a packed house at the sizeable Nashville 3rd and Lindsley Bar. The recording quality is especially good, with the stereo spatial separation that Davis was looking for as well. As far as we know, despite the fact that digital technology makes it easy to splice and modify sounds, there was no use of control room gadgetry to revise the original live recording.
The album begins with a short talk by Liebman reflecting casually on Davis’ career and providing an overview of the program. (One wishes he said more about the Davis “Corners” recording date.) Then, “In a Silent Way” finds Liebman on wood flute and soprano saxophone accompanied by Coffin’s tenor sax. It’s a slow paced modal melody almost empty, like silence. Throughout the album you’re going to hear carefully articulated modal and chromatic melodic improvising that lends an impressionistic beauty deliberately omitted in Davis’ recording.
“On the Corner,” however, adheres closely to the sound of Davis’ “On the Corner” track. It’s almost free jazz except for a discernable melody and key, with sounds characteristic of fusion. Liebman offers an animalistic “Rite of Spring”-like improvisation on soprano saxophone complemented by Coffin’s electronic saxophone. It is sheer funk with a touch of the blues characteristic of acid rock. A repetitive grunge motif on bass guitar is reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius‘ tenure in Weather Report and builds up to simultaneous improvising by the whole group.
Wili (co-written by Davis and Liebman)” harks back to the feeling of “In a Silent Way,” with Liebman on wood flute providing sound imagery of ethereal night. There is interesting synthesizer work on keyboards and guitar and a lovely dialogue between wood flute and soprano saxophone. Walters’ keyboards and DaSilva’s guitar delve into the “night” idea further, giving an impressionist flavor which Liebman likes for ballads.
A “Bass Interlude” affords a parody of the Nashville country and western sound, and like the tracks on Davis’ album, segues directly without pause into “Black Satin,” in a version nothing like Davis’ track. It is far less chaotic! The melodic motif predominates and Liebman does one of his magnificent soprano saxophone solos. A subdued postlude takes the melody at a snail’s pace out into the night. Davis was called “Prince of Darkness” for a variety of reasons, but his music exemplified at some depth the nightshades that make jazz so haunting, as does this tune.
The album moves on to several originals. “Selim,” a bluesy meditation begins with what might be the only acoustic piano segment, and the whole piece seems pre-fusion. A “Guitar Interlude” by DaSilva also provides a mainstream solo going back to Herb Ellis, et al. It ends though with a touch of fusion/synthesizer accompaniment leading up to “Ife” which provides a perfect foil for another iconic Liebman soprano saxophone solo.
If rappers could be drummers, Chester Thompson’s “Drum Interlude” would exemplify their pounding rhythmic rants. It is followed seamlessly by “Mojo,”; which as the name suggests creates an accelerating magic spell. As the pace picks up the effect is that of a train-like version of Ravel’s “Bolero.” Surprisingly, the “funk” on this album harks back to Charlie Parker, who found much inspiration in Ravel and Stravinsky. A doctoral thesis could be written about the premise, “without bebop, no funk.”
The album concludes with “Jean Pierre,” a Motown-ish vamp that could have provided a backdrop for Boyz 2 Men. Taken as a whole, this album provides a healthy dose of jazz, rock, fusion, and funk all put together by a group of outstanding musicians who know exactly what they are doing and having great fun “on the corner.”
MUSICAL MEMOIRS
by Dee Dee McNeil
Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, as a teenager I was absolutely fascinated by Miles Davis and captivated by his “Sketches in Spain” album and his iconic, recorded masterpiece, “Kind of Blue.” But Miles Dewey Davis III had much more music inside of him; music that was eager to be composed and delivered to his adoring public. Miles, born May 26, 1926, became one of the most influential and uniquely original jazz trumpeters and composers of the twentieth century. His over five-decade career moved from Bebop to the fringes of hip-hop music, venturing into contemporary jazz and a period dedicated to more electric jazz. It was new music, rooted in funk and fusion. In 1972, he recorded the “On the Corner” album for Columbia Records.
He incorporated bassist/vocalist Michael Henderson, who is a recording artist in his own right, leaning heavily towards R&B roots. John McLaughlin joined Dave Creamer and Reggie Lucas on guitar. Both Chick Corea, Harold Ivory Williams and Herbie Hancock played keyboards at various sessions and times. Cedric Lawson was masterful on organ. This was exploratory, fusion jazz, highly electronic and experimental. Miles used various drummers including Al Foster, Billy Hart, Don Alias and Jack DeJohnette. James Mtume manned the percussion and he added sitar players and Badal Roy on tabla. Bennie Maupin was on bass clarinet and both Carlos Garnett and Dave Liebman played soprano and tenor saxophones on this unique production.
Coming full circle, in 2015, Dave Liebman found himself celebrating this unforgettable period of the Miles Davis fusion music in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the original idea of reedman, Jeff Coffin. When Dave Liebman appeared in Nashville, Coffin swooped him up to be a part of his project. Afterall, Liebman was an alumnus of the original recording session with Miles nearly fifty years ago. The other players Coffin called are some of the whose-who, top musicians in Nashville. Their concert was well-attended and a huge success. More importantly, it produced this nostalgic album of recorded music. Although Miles Davis died on September 28, 1991, his music is as relevant and entertaining right now, in 2019. as it was throughout his career.
This tribute album opens with a monologue by David Liebman. He talks about how revolutionary the music of Miles Davis was back in the early 70’s. They begin with the Joe Zawinal tune, “In A Silent Way.” It plays like a prayer. Then the Miles Davis composition, “On the Corner,” follows and the fireworks begin. I remember how angry and confused the acoustic instrument lovers and bebop fans were when Miles Davis released this album. There was much protest and accusations that he had ‘sold out.’ These newly assembled musicians bring that period of the Davis career alive again.
Other Miles compositions on this production are “Will (for Dave)”, that was co-written by David Liebman. Bassist Victor Wooten adds an interlude between this song and “Black Satin.” They also celebrate the Miles Davis compositions, “Ife,” “Mojo,” and “Jean Pierre.” Guitarist, James DaSilva is featured on a short interlude, as is Chester Thompson, who takes a drum solo exploration interlude between “ife” and “Mojo.”
 
ARTSFUSE
by Steve Feeney
Miles Davis (1926-91) has been gone quite a while now. But box sets and bootlegs of his music continue to appear, so his spirit is still very much around — amusing, inspiring, and enlightening. A few surviving Davis sidemen are also serving Davis’s legacy with albums devoted to his music. Among those intrepid champions of the master’s oeuvre is Dave Liebman, a sax player who participated in one of the powered-up units of Miles’ classic “electric” period (the early to mid-1970s).
Liebman is a major presence on the recently released On the Corner Live: The Music of Miles Davis, which features music from a 2015 live gig in Nashville put together by fellow reedman Jeff Coffin. The group is rounded out with Victor Wooten (electric bass), Chester Thompson (drums), Chris Walters (keyboards), and James DaSilva (guitar). You may have noticed something odd. There’s no trumpet player!
This album, nonetheless, does an excellent job of recapturing some of the glory of the original Davis recordings. Excellent soloing on top of some crazy-hard funk rhythms make it an above average effort.
After a brief table-setting talk by Liebman, the group offers a “benediction” in the form of a take of “In a Silent Way” that, understandably, proffers a bit more melancholy than what can be found on the original’s sweeping soundscapes.
Things then get hot pretty quickly as Liebman and Coffin work sinuous lines around the hard avant-funk of the tune “On the Corner.” The relentless drive of the piece features DaSilva squawking wah-wah counterpoint and Walters weaving chordal hints. It’s obvious that these guys not only understand Davis’s music — they still feel the zeitgeist of the original era. The sound of the saxes is eventually pushed through some electronic distortion until a screaming crescendo sets everybody back in the groove.
“Black Satin,” the second tune from On the Corner, supplies an infectious odd-meter vamp. Soprano conversations form the top line with variations below filling the gaps. Responsiveness among the players keeps this cut away from turning into a one-trick tune. Mystery and drama are generated out of subtle shifts in the configuration of the accompaniment.
“Ife,” featured on the Davis album Big Fun and in live performances of the period, adds tenor sax to a slow, bluesy mix while “Mojo” conjures the later part of the post-Bitches Brew period, when the density and intensity of the music was intended to become nearly overwhelming.
The disc concludes with a piece from Miles’ early-’80s comeback. “Jean Pierre” presents the kind of lighter, more playful  pop funk that would carry Davis onward for another decade.There is much to recommend on this disc, including an impressive version of  “Interludes” from the rhythm section. Strange as it may seem, the fact that there’s no trumpet player in the band is fitting. After all, Davis had coolly left the stage by the time this ensemble started up. But the musician’s presence is still felt, via the imagination of the listeners, in this fine tribute.
 
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