If Dave Liebman in Conversation with Lewis Porter: What It Is: The Life of a Jazz Artist has not already been published by Scarecrow Press, then it will be soon. It clearly promises to be an absorbing read – Porter the acclaimed biographer of John Coltrane and Liebman one of the first ‘Young Lions’ to emerge steeped in Coltrane's style when he made his recording debut on Blue Note records in 1972 with Elvin Jones on Live at the Lighthouse. The idea of this recording was mooted during the preparation of the book; Lewis, a highly regarded jazz educator who holds court at Rutgers University, had previously recorded with Liebman in 2000, and the idea here was to bring in some musicians with whom Libeman had not previously worked (not an easy task). So, a pickup band, but it coalesced well under Liebman's commanding personality. Porter plays well, while Ribot is one of those interesting musical voices whose talent is such he has moved through so many different bands and projects there is a sense his musical personality lacks definition since he is all things to all people, but here he is focussed and his trade-mark off-the-wall-isms are used to good effect. Ultimately, this is Liebman's record, a jazz great who perhaps has not been given his due, yet the sort of player who has the rare ability to encourage those around him to lift their game by personal example and there is no doubting the intensity and emotional charge the group bring to Coltrane's ‘Alabama’, the album highlight. - Stuart Nicholson / jazzwise.com
Tracks
1. Olivier (Lewis Porter)
2. Untitled Free Ballad 1
3. Omega is the Alpha-Ghosts (Albert Ayler)
4. Trigonometry (Ornette Coleman/Pat Metheny)
5. Surreality (Dave Liebman)
6. Untitled Free Ballad 2 (Taylor/Liebman/Teepe/Porter)
7. Get Me Back to the Apple (Dave Liebman)
8. Alabama (John Coltrane)
DAVE LIEBMAN saxophones
LEWIS PORTER piano, keyboards
MARC RIBOT guitars
BRAD JONES bass
CHAD TAYLOR drums
Recorded on September 13, 2011 at Tedesco Studios
Enja Records – enja 7727 2 (Germany)