New Listen: Dave Liebman’s ‘Ornette Plus’

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Artist: The Dave Liebman Group
Album: Ornette Plus (2010)

As expected, Dave Liebman has continued to expand his mammoth catalogue in 2010.  A number of releases have dropped in the last few months, but this particular record – I still use the word even though this is an iTunes-only release! – has flown somewhat under the radar.  While I still need to catch up on a number of the other releases, I can assure you that this one simply isn’t an afterthought (when compared to its more publicized counterparts).

The Dave Liebman Group is:
Vic Juris – Guitar
Dave Liebman – Saxophone
Marko Marcinko – Drums
Tony Marino – Bass

Ornette Plus serves as a live b-side of sorts to DLG’s recently-released studio album Turnaround: The Music of Ornette Coleman (2010).  It features performances of three Coleman tunes – “Turnaround,” “Lonely Woman,” and “Cross Beeding” – as well as an adventurous 30-minute interpretation of Vic Juris’s “Victim.”  DLG is, hands down, arguably the best live ensemble I’ve seen.  Musicality and virtuosity aside, they have an unparalleled telepathy and empathy that allow them to convey a dynamic, unified message.  (If you ever have the chance to see them, take advantage of it; you won’t regret it.)

“Turnaround” kicks off the album nicely.  While maintaining a number of the “free” aspects, it’s full of two things: groove and the blues.  Even though the pulse tends to fluctuate, there’s always a deep, dirty groove.  The melody here features a wonderful heterophony between Liebman (tenor) and Juris (guitar) – one of the group’s hallmarks.  Those two have a truly impressive ability to move together melodically without 1) requiring the dreaded unison and 2) stepping on each others’ toes.  Before reprising the final melody, there’s some great call-and-response between these two lead players.  Bluesy and gritty, this is a great opener; a nice way to “ease” the listener into the more exploratory performances.

If you’re looking for something similar to the original “Lonely Woman,” then listen elsewhere.  The ensemble displays its collective abilities here, creating an ambient, quasi-electronic soundscape that sends the listener to another world.  Liebman trades in the sax for a wooden flute, soaring over a pulse-less backdrop of harmonic texture, drones, cymbals, and tribal percussion.  It’s almost difficult to believe it’s the same group, let alone the same album; a nice contrast to the opener.

“Cross Beeding” is pure Ornette.  After a brief solo introduction on soprano saxophone, Lieb and Juris once again lead the group heterophonically in a more “traditional” frenetic and stilted Coleman manner.  Abruptly changing pace, Marino shines on the bass, soloing over a spooky, ambient backdrop similar to “Lonely Woman.”  Gradually the entire ensemble joins, and Marcinko drives the rhythmic activity, escalating until the whole group is drunkenly dancing about at the end.

The album “closes” (it’s the entire second half) with “Victim,” a Juris original.  Not only does the quartet explore collectively here, but each member also gets a chance to shine in the spotlight.  The Coleman compositions were bent more towards featuring the ensemble as a whole, not unlike a classical concerto for orchestra.  “Victim,” however, allows each soloist to speak freely, with only two brief, burning statements of the melody.  (A live performance was also released on 2008’s online release Further Conversations, but this one stretches much farther.)  Even though all of the tunes on this album aren’t from a single performance, this rendition of “Victim” ties the album together by both hinting at a number of styles explored earlier – free, ambient, and rhythmic – and via Lieb’s brief (un/intentional?) quoting of “Turnaround.”  (The latter’s quite impressive if from a separate performance.)  It also forges new paths, featuring more extended techniques, solo play, and fast, hard-driving swing.  Vintage DLG.

This was unintentionally a longer review than usual, but that’s because this album is worth it! It may not be the best place to start with Dave Liebman if you’ve not listened to him before – or much “progressive” jazz in general – but this should serve as a real treat to those familiar and/or those with adventurous taste.  Do give this hidden gem a listen (or five or ten!) – you’ll be glad you did!

*And for those interested in improvisatory performance styles of any kind, this album (along with any other by DLG) is one of the best masterclasses you could have.*

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Update: In Transit

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I didn’t originally intend to take the blog on hiatus these last couple weeks, but work and travel got the best of me.  I had to trek to Michigan State University for meetings and recruiting for next summer’s study abroad course.  Also, with Thanksgiving approaching, I’ve also been trying to squeeze many things in while working on the road.  At any rate, I have number of new albums I’d love to review soon, as well as quite a few ideas to extrapolate.  Everything should be “back to normal” after getting back to TX at the end of the week.

Social Media: Stifle Yourself

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As you know, this is the “Social Media Age.”  In fact, I’m sure that’s how most of you got to this entry.  It’s obviously a very useful and arguably necessary component of our personal and professional lives.  However, even in social media there’s such a thing as too much.

I’m a compartmentalizer; always have been.  I like to be organized and keep things in their separate places.  The same goes for all things digital.  Where I’m going with this is that most of my colleagues – past and present – and interests tend to mix the personal and professional.  Consequently, when I’m wanting to learn about new music, tour dates, album releases (yes, LPs do still exist!), or any piece of useful information, I tend to also read about their last meal, how they feel about athletes and politicians, and various emotional assessments.  I can empathize, as about 10 times each day I think hey, that’d be funny/insightful/thought-provoking/[you fill in the blank].  Then after about 1.5 seconds I consider the reader.  Will they care?  80% of the time the answer is no.  Hence this blog’s musical focus.  I could write endlessly about comedy, politics, social commentary, and the infamous “vexatious minutiae” (to quote a past professor), but it’s best that I be consistent and maintain some sort of constant thread throughout.

While I don’t expect everyone to be completely black-and-white mechanical, everyone should realize that everything has its place.  Even in a digital environment.

New Listen: Rolf Lislevand’s ‘Diminuito’

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Artist: Rolf Lislevand
Album: Diminuito (2009)

Reinforcing the aforementioned eclectic nature of this series, this week’s selection comes from the Italian Renaissance.  Actually, it’s a quite modern taken on music written during the Renaissance.  Here, Rolf Lislevand, a leading Baroque and Renaissance lutenist, leads an ensemble of early music performance specialists through stirring renditions on centuries-old music.  (I emphasize “performance specialists,” as there’s often a distinct difference between performers and researchers in academia – a topic I’ll likely return to in the near future.)  As with Manu Katché’s Third Round, this was a completely blind purchase, having known neither the main performer nor any of the pieces – only the style.  While many early music recordings can be hit or miss, I considered this worth the chance for two reasons:

1. It’s part of ECM New Series, the classical branch of ECM.
2. It includes vocalists Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Anna Maria Friman, two-thirds of Trio Mediaeval. I blindly purchased their Folk Songs – a collection of Medieval Scandinavian songs – this past spring and thoroughly enjoy it.

The instrumentation varies throughout, with particular feature on plucked strings.  It includes lutes (many, many lutes), nyckelharpa, clavichord, organ, percussion, voice, vihuela de mano, triple harp, and more.  Not every instrument is used for every number; this helps keep the ensemble sounding fresh for the album’s entirety.  As mentioned above, much of the music comes from the Italian Renaissance, specifically the Veneto region (north).  In listening to the recording and reading the liner notes (written by Lislevand himself, and directed toward a more musicologically-informed reader, perhaps unintentionally), it’s quickly evident that all involved are very historically informed.  They interpret the music not only as well-rehearsed performers but they also offer a musicological rigor.  (This goes beyond simply using an urtext edition!)

Furthermore, what maintain the listener’s interest are not only the technical or the intellectual aspects, but the visceral.  This album is FUN!  For those familiar with Renaissance music, you likely know that many texts discuss the music’s – often fun – role in court life.  However it’s often hard to sense much fun when listening to it.  (Rigid interpretations of transcriptions and/or arrangements are often the weapon of choice.)  Diminuito, on the other hand, helps Renaissance music live up to the hype.  The ensemble, under Lislevand’s leadership, take liberties and focus heavily on improvisation, something often discussed academically but forgotten in “practice” (i.e., historical reconstruction).  Much like jazz standards, the pieces are often given some variation of the “head-solo-head” treatment.  Also, Lislevand takes liberties with the compositions, often combining multiple pieces to create new arrangements.  My personal favorites, and those that perhaps best exemplify Lislevand’s approach, are “Petit Jacquet/Quinta Pars” and the whirlwind “La Perra Mora.”  Simply close your eyes and you’ll feel like you’re at a soirée with the local nobility!  (500 years ago, that is.)

Breathing fresh air into centuries-old music, Lislevand & Co. prove that Renaissance music was lively and full of spirit.  Most of all, they prove it is still relevant!

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New Listen: Elton John & Leon Russell’s ‘The Union’

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Artist: Elton John & Leon Russell
Album: The Union (2010)

For a little change of pace, this album is not only a new listen for me, but for everyone.  Being the Elton John fan I am, I had to go out and snatch it up on its release date last Tuesday.  (Note: I’m familiar with some of Russell’s work specifically, but mostly I’m coming at this from an Elton-centric perspective.)  I must say I was a little leery at first – this album received much hype over the last few months. That, coupled with Elton’s overall new material throughout the last decade or so, made me wonder if it could actually meet its expectations.  Luckily for this listener, it exceeds them.

First, it’s worth noting that I often take issue with fans or critics that constantly live in the past.  Overall this album has received quite positive reviews, but occasionally you’ll come across someone complaining it’s not the same as such early EJ efforts Tumbleweed Connection (1970, perhaps my personal favorite), Elton John (1970), or Honky Chateau (1972), or Russell’s early work.  Of course it’ll be different – forty years have passed for the performers!  Artists constantly evolve.  If you don’t like a new direction, that’s understandable, but I’m always amazed when people are disappointed by those who don’t constantly repeat the past.  (Yet, I’m sure those same folks would complain about just artists who only did one “thing.”)  Anyway, this album may not make you think it’s the late 1960s or early 1970s, but it does display a strong influence of their early styles, and it does so quite well.  That being said, for Elton fans reading this post, consider this album to be a nice combining of the styles of Tumbleweed Connection and The Captain and The Kid (2006).  [This topic of living in the past will likely come up again and again; it’s a source of great frustration.]

The major players here are Elton John and Leon Russell, obviously, and also Bernie Taupin – John’s career-spanning lyricist – and producer T Bone Burnett.  Without getting too much into the album’s lore, Russell was a great influence on Elton’s early career, both stylistically and in featuring him as an opening acts in the early ’70s.  Since then, Elton had wanted to collaborate and pay tribute to his idol.  The end result is a nice rock-country-gospel hybrid with a modern twist.  The ensemble here is substantial: standard rock rhythm section, two pianos (John, Russell), full horn section, various keyboards and guitars, and gospel choir.  Also, special appearances are made by Neil Young, Robert Randolph, Booker T.,and Brian Wilson.  Overall there’s a pretty big sound present, however the mix oddly buries the pianos at times.  (Unusual, considering they involved a very in-demand producer – you’d think someone would have caught that.)  For variety, the instrumentation changes somewhat throughout, and also John and Russell distribute vocal duties nicely.  While trading verses and sharing choruses on many of the album’s songs, they also each have “solo” numbers, with the other joining in on backing vocals for the chorus.  (Even though Elton sings at a lower octave nowadays, he’s the stronger voice here, and often takes over when it gets high or powerful.)

Though there is an overall aesthetic, the songs themselves vary stylistically.  They range from those on the far end of the country/gospel spectrum – “A Dream Come True” and “Jimmie Rodgers’ Dream” – to groove-based rock/gospel – “Hey Ahab” and “I Should Have Sent Roses” – to funky country-rock a la Tumbleweed Connection – “My Kind of Hell” and “Monkey Suit” – to more pop-based fare – “Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody),” “Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes,” and the über-ballad “When Love Is Dying.”  As for the special guests mentioned above, perhaps the best part is that there’s no real song and dance about it when one does appear.  It’s mentioned in the liner notes, but not next to song titles (e.g., “with special guest”).  As you listen to the album, occasionally you’ll hear a new/different voice or instrument (Young or Randolph, for example) and likely recognize it, but it won’t at all be jarring or take you out of the listening experience.  Each one fits; they’re only used when necessary, which is the best way to use musical guests.  As an Elton fan, perhaps the biggest issue with the album is that a few of the songs sound like chordal reworkings of a few numbers from The Captain and The Kid.  However, all I can say to that is that the songs on The Union are much better – consider them improved second drafts.

For the old-school “purists”/enthusiasts, perhaps this album is disappointing because there is a touch of modern Elton. However this is mostly laced with the styles that made him initially famous and solidified his status as a rock legend.  The best part of this album is that is sounds FUN.  Yes, I imagine there were many separate takes and overdubs (there’s often more science than magic in recording studios), but the end result sounds like one big ensemble having a genuinely fun time in the studio.  It’s an infectious feeling that’ll pull you in if you just let it.

(NOTE: I purchased the CD/DVD version, which does include bonus tracks.  FYI in case you come across an album missing a song title or two.)

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