Daily Dose Of Jazz…

David Liebman was born September 4, 1946 into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. As a child he contracted polio and began classical piano lessons at the age of nine and saxophone by twelve. His interest in jazz came when he saw John Coltrane perform live in New York City clubs aand throughout high school and college, Liebman pursued his jazz interest by studying with Joe Allard, Lennie Tristano, and Charles Lloyd. Upon graduation from New York University he began to seriously devote himself to the full-time pursuit of being a jazz artist.

In the early 1970s, he organized the cooperative, Free Life Communication, which became an integral part of the New York loft jazz scene. He landed a place with Elvin Jones’ band then an apprenticeship with Miles Davis from 1970 to 1974. Liebman explored his own music with the groups  Open Sky Trio and Lookout Farm.In 1977 he toured the world with pianist Chick Corea, followed by his own quintet over three years.

David has worked with George Mraz, Al Foster, Ron McClure and Billy Hart, Vic Juris, Tony Marino, Bobby Avey, Matt Vashlishan and Alex Ritz, Joachim Kühn, Daniel Humair, Paolo Fresu, Jon Christensen, Bobo Stenson among others. He played with several European orchestras, and his artistic output is straight-ahead classic jazz, chamber music, fusion and avant garde.

As an educator he has published instructional DVDs, has taught at universities and clinics, and has regularly received grantees to study with him funded by the NEA, the Canadian Arts Council, as well as Arts Councils of numerous European countries. In 1989, he was the artistic director of the International Association of Schools of Jazz.

Saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator David Liebman, who received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award, continues to perform and record.

More Posts: bandleader,educator,flute,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone

Requisites

Coltrane ~ John Coltrane | By Eddie Carter

As someone who has enjoyed John Coltrane’s music for years, I’ve revisited this morning’s album from the library countless times, and each time I listen, it reveals something fresh and exciting. Coltrane (Prestige PRLP 7105) is the first chapter in a body of work that continues to challenge, inspire, and uplift listeners. John Coltrane’s path to his debut album was anything but easy. He grappled with addiction and periods of self-doubt, which eventually led to his dismissal from Miles Davis’s quintet. After returning to Philadelphia to end his addiction, John overcame his dependencies and embarked on a profound spiritual journey, allowing him to discover his singular musical voice and ultimately his first Prestige recording session.

Joining the tenor saxophonist are Johnnie Splawn on trumpet (tracks: A1, B1 to B3), Sahib Shihab on baritone sax (A1, B1, B3), Red Garland (A1 to A3), and Mal Waldron (B1 to B3) on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums. My copy of this album is the 2023 Analogue Productions mono audiophile reissue, sharing the original catalog number. “Bakai” by Cal Massey opens the first side, unveiling the ensemble’s relaxing melody. Red initiates the solos with a gentle and lyrical touch, as smooth as a calm sea. John’s following statement is grounded in a steady, unwavering rhythm of harmonic exploration. Sahib then steps in with an exquisite statement that nearly steals the show, leading back to the sextet’s theme restatement and ending.

Violets For Your Furs is a charming ballad from the 1940s by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis, which Red brings to life with a tender introduction to Coltrane’s lyrical sensitivity in the quartet’s theme, and a softer, more romantic side in the opening solo. Garland comes in next for a thoughtful, reflective reading until Coltrane gracefully reenters for the theme’s elegant climax. “Time Was” by Gabriel Luna de la Fuente, Paz Miguel Prado, and Bob Russell moves the beat upward for the quartet to give a lively melody. John leads off the solos with an abundance of passion, then Red continues soaring with joyful exuberance in the second reading. Paul has the last word and takes a short walk ahead of the theme’s return and finish.

Straight Street by John Coltrane gets the second side off to a good start. This song announces the spiritual dimension that would become central to his later albums. The sextet returns to full voice for a swinging melody with Mal taking over the piano duties. Coltrane gets right to work and wails on the opening statement. Splawn steps in next, firing on all cylinders, then Waldron takes the final spotlight preceding the group’s return for a vivacious exit. The pace slows down again for the album’s second 1940s ballad, “While My Lady Sleeps,” by Gus Kahn and Bronislaw Kaper. The ensemble presents a splendid study in soulful improvisation, with John paving the way through the melody into an affectionately intimate reading that ends as beautiful as it began.

Chronic Blues by John Coltrane opens with the sextet easing into the theme at a laid-back, comfortable tempo. Shihab launches the opening solo with rhythmic grace and effortless flow. Coltrane next delivers a smooth and inviting swing, as warm and familiar as a favorite homemade dish. Splawn’s turn brings a light and airy touch, infusing the piece with an appealing charm. Waldron closes things out with a breezy reading that leaves the sextet’s finale deeply satisfying. Bob Weinstock supervised the initial session, and Rudy Van Gelder was behind the recording dials. Kevin Gray mastered this audiophile reissue at Cohearant Audio. The album’s sound quality is spectacular, with a gorgeous soundstage that places the musicians directly in front of your sweet spot.

The record was pressed on 180-gram audiophile vinyl and offers an absolutely silent background until the music unfolds. Upon its release, “Coltrane” was met with excitement from jazz lovers and critics alike, though it didn’t propel John Coltrane to instant fame. That recognition would eventually arrive with “Giant Steps,” “My Favorite Things,” and “A Love Supreme.” Still, his debut firmly established Coltrane as a bandleader, composer, and innovator. It also marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey, where he would push the boundaries of jazz, explore spiritual themes, and redefine musical expression. If you haven’t experienced “Coltrane” yet, I highly recommend searching for it on your next record store visit. It’s an outstanding album by John Coltrane that provides a calming, immersive listening experience, gently enveloping you in its soothing melodies from the very first note!

A Love Supreme (Impulse A-77/AS-77), Giant Steps (Atlantic 1311/SD 1311), My Favorite Things (Atlantic 1361/SD

More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Roy Willox was born into a musical family in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England on August 31,1929. At 16 he had a brief spell with Johnny Claes in 1945 and then with other bands before joining Ted Heath from 1950 to 1955.

About this time he worked in the jazz clubs in a group with Keith Christie, and with Jack Parnell followed with extensive freelance work in television, radio and the theatre. The jazz scene saw Willox in Harry South’s band during the 1960s and 1970s and returned to the Heath band for dates in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was in demand through the 1960s for many jazz big band dates, notably with Harry South and Tubby Hayes. He played throughout the 1990s and 2000s, first with The Ted Heath Band, (then led by Don Lusher), and in Lusher’s own big band until it’s last concert in 2007. He played in the Ted Heath band’s farewell concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London in 2000.

A fluent saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist Roy Willox, whose main instrument is alto saxophone, continues to perform and record.

More Posts: bandleader,clarinet,flute,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John Douglas Surman was born August 30, 1944 in Tavistock, Devon, England. He initially gained recognition playing baritone saxophone in the Mike Westbrook Band in the mid-1960s, and was soon heard regularly playing soprano saxophone and bass clarinet as well.

His first playing issued on a record was with the Peter Lemer Quintet in 1966. After further recordings and performances with jazz bandleaders Westbrook and Graham Collier and blues-rock musician Alexis Korner, he made the first record under his own name in 1968.

In 1969, he founded The Trio along with two expatriate American musicians, bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Stu Martin. In the mid-1970s, he founded one of the earliest all-saxophone jazz groups, S.O.S., along with alto saxophonist Mike Osborne and tenor saxophonist Alan Skidmore.

During this early period, he also recorded with (among others) saxophonist Ronnie Scott, guitarist John McLaughlin, bandleader Michael Gibbs, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, and pianist Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath.

In 1972 he had begun experimenting with synthesizers. The musical relationships he established during the Seventies with pianist John Taylor, bassist Chris Laurence, and drummer John Marshall; singer Karin Krog and drummer/pianist Jack DeJohnette continued for decades.

Since the 1990s, he has composed several suites of music that feature his playing in unusual contexts, and has worked with bassist Miroslav Vitouš, bandleader Gil Evans, pianist Paul Bley and Vigleik Storaas, saxophonist and composer John Warren, guitarists Terje Rypdal and John Abercrombie and trumpeter Tomasz Stańko.

Baritone and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist, synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, who continues to often use themes from folk music has also composed and performed music for dance performances and film soundtracks.

More Posts: bandleader,clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone,synthesizer

Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Andrew Lamb was born on August 26, 1958 in Clinton, North Carolina and raised in Chicago, Illinois and South Jamaica, Queens, New York. Having studied with AACM charter member Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, he came into New York City’s avant-garde community during the 1970s, becoming an active presence in the Bedford-Stuyvesant arts world and winning a Brooklyn Arts Council grant.

1994 saw him leading a session for Delmark, composing all the pieces on Portrait in the Mist, which featured vibraphonist Warren Smith, bassist Wilber Morris, and drummer Andrei Strobert. Lamb has since recorded duets with Warren Smith, and made a trio recording with Eugene Cooper and Andrei Strobert.

In 2003 released Pilgrimage on CIMP with Tom Abbs and Andrei Strobert, and with his group The Moving Formas released Year of the Endless Moment. As a leader he has recorded five albums beginning with 1994’s Portrait In The Mist, with his latest The Casbah Of Love in 2018 on Birdwatcher Records

Saxophonist and flautist Andrew Lamb, who leads his own ensembles and has been a part of Alan Silva as well as Cecil Taylor’s big bands, continues to perform and record.

More Posts: bandleader,flute,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone