Private Archives

JAMMIN' WITH EDDIE

   My relationship with pianist Richie Beirach is well documented on CDs and historically on the Mosaic label. Our story begins with playing in the New York loft scene followed by apprenticing with the masters…..Richie with Stan Getz and Chet Baker, myself with Elvin Jones and Miles Davis. By 1974 the group “Lookout Farm” began with Frank Tusa on bass, Jeff Williams on drums and for a while Badal Roy on tablas. By 1976 with the end of that band, Richie went with John Abercrombie’s Group while I formed the Ellis-Liebman Band in San Francisco followed by returning to New York and forming the Dave Liebman Quintet featuring John Scofield. With these other commitments, we still played together on occasion, most notably recording live at the Village Vanguard in 1978 on “Pendulum” with Tusa, Randy Brecker and drummer Al Foster. By the early ‘80s we formally put together the next group in our evolution (as always with the duo alongside) called “Quest” which by 1984 after a few personnel changes solidified with Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums. This rare recording (originally on cassette) captures a certain stage of our development made special by the inclusion of the great, late drummer Eddie Moore for this one time performance in 1982 at the Back Dynamite and Dancing Society in Half Moon Bay, California, a wonderful place to play on Sunday afternoons run by the incredible Pete Douglas. The sound quality is not good but the historical value is important concerning the musical evolution of Richie and me.

    In small group jazz, the drums occupy a crucial position. From Jeff Williams as part of the first group “Lookout Farm” to “Quest” with at first Al Foster, followed by Billy Hart the drummer has had a major influence on our playing. Richie has never been shy about leading the rhythm section, something that any horn player will appreciate. His harmonic sense is famous among those in the know. (He is known as the Code.) On this recording it is his ability to get the drums and bass acting as a unit supporting what I am playing. In the best of small group musical worlds supporting a horn means complimentary phrasing, filling in spaces, rhythmic support and of course harmonic intent. All of these responsibilities are spread out between the pianist, bassist and drummer. But in the final analysis, it is the drums that provide the power, inspiration and excitement….all intangibles but all mandatory for a powerful musical experience. Jeff Williams played very much in the Jack DeJonette mold creating cross rhythms often independent of the specifics of what Richie might play rhythmically. Al Foster was the perfect accompanist for Richie because his big ears meant that whatever Richie played rhythmically was accounted for by Al, as if the two were thinking alike. Billy Hart emphasizes both ways of playing, being quite independent but also ready to jump into the middle of the fray unexpectedly. As well, Jabali is a supreme colorist using the sound of his cymbals and drums to enhance the story line.

   What is interesting about this tape from this angle is how Eddie Moore, a great drummer who lived on the West Coast at the time negotiates the rhythmic space with Richie at this one time gig. Eddie provides great time and consistent energy allowing Richie to put a lot of his attention on what I am playing. This wonderful “carpet” lets me and Richie really hook up in a variety of ways, rhythmically and harmonically. Playing a repertoire that we were very familiar with and could easily be shown to a newcomer while having Frank on bass who of course was with us in “Lookout Farm” meant that we could just go in and burn without any discussion. Eddie Moore was the real deal having played with everyone, therefore highly experienced, easy to be with and ready to rock. Listeners who enjoy the work of Richie and me will I am sure find this music of historical interest as well as enjoyable to hear. We take no prisoners on this recording.My relationship with pianist Richie Beirach is well documented on CDs and historically on the Mosaic label. Our story begins with playing in the New York loft scene followed by apprenticing with the masters…..Richie with Stan Getz and Chet Baker, myself with Elvin Jones and Miles Davis. By 1974 the group “Lookout Farm” began with Frank Tusa on bass, Jeff Williams on drums and for awhile Badal Roy on tablas. By 1976 with the end of that band, Richie went with John Abercrombie’s Group while I formed the Ellis-Liebman Band in San Francisco followed by returning to New York and forming the Dave Liebman Quintet featuring John Scofield. With these other commitments, we still played together on occasion, most notably recording live at the Village Vanguard in 1978 on “Pendulum” with Tusa, Randy Brecker and drummer Al Foster. By the early ‘80s we formally put together the next group in our evolution (as always with the duo alongside) called “Quest” which by 1984 after a few personnel changes solidified with Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums. This rare recording ( originally on cassette) captures a certain stage of our development made special by the inclusion of the great, late drummer Eddie Moore for this one time performance in 1982 at the Back Dynamite and Dancing Society in Half Moon Bay, California, a wonderful place to play on Sunday afternoons run by the incredible Pete Douglas. The sound quality is not good but the historical value is important concerning the musical evolution of Richie and me.

   In small group jazz, the drums occupy a crucial position. From Jeff Williams as part of the first group “Lookout Farm” to “Quest” with at first Al Foster, followed by Billy Hart the drummer has had a major influence on our playing. Richie has never been shy about leading the rhythm section, something that any horn player will appreciate. His harmonic sense is famous among those in the know. (He is known as the Code.) On this recording it is his ability to get the drums and bass acting as a unit supporting what I am playing. In the best of small group musical worlds supporting a horn means complimentary phrasing, filling in spaces, rhythmic support and of course harmonic intent. All of these responsibilities are spread out between the pianist, bassist and drummer. But in the final analysis, it is the drums that provide the power, inspiration and excitement….all intangibles but all mandatory for a powerful musical experience. Jeff Williams played very much in the Jack DeJonette mold creating cross rhythms often independent of the specifics of what Richie might play rhythmically. Al Foster was the perfect accompanist for Richie because his big ears meant that whatever Richie played rhythmically was accounted for by Al, as if the two were thinking alike. Billy Hart emphasizes both ways of playing, being quite independent but also ready to jump into the middle of the fray unexpectedly. As well, Jabali is a supreme colorist using the sound of his cymbals and drums to enhance the story line.

   What is interesting about this tape from this angle is how Eddie Moore, a great drummer who lived on the West Coast at the time negotiates the rhythmic space with Richie at this one time gig. Eddie provides great time and consistent energy allowing Richie to put a lot of his attention on what I am playing. This wonderful “carpet” lets me and Richie really hook up in a variety of ways, rhythmically and harmonically. Playing a repertoire that we were very familiar with and could easily be shown to a newcomer while having Frank on bass who of course was with us in “Lookout Farm” meant that we could just go in and burn without any discussion. Eddie Moore was the real deal having played with everyone, therefore highly experienced, easy to be with and ready to rock. Listeners who enjoy the work of Richie and me will I am sure find this music of historical interest as well as enjoyable to hear. We take no prisoners on this recording.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT SOME TRACKS ARE LOUDER THAN OTHERS FOR THIS COLLECTION!!

"Pablo's Story"

"Green Dolphin Street"

"Forgotten Fantasy"

"Nardis"

"Elm"

"Softly"

This atmospheric performance from 1983 of Ornette’s “Lonely Woman” is on alto flute which I played on and off over the years till I let it go along with the tenor in 1985 for 15 years to concentrate on soprano sax only. This horn is a challenge, especially to go in the higher register, but I enjoyed it a lot. The rhythm section was one I worked with quite often in the ‘80s in New Orleans, and for awhile I seriously contemplated moving there. On drums is John Vidakovich; on bass is Jim Singleton; on guitar (using his invention the Keetar) is Steve Masakowski.

"Lonely Woman"

Live version of the great tune “Invitation” from the 2011 Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Camp in Louisville, Kentucky with Andy LaVerne(piano), Jason Tiemann (drums), Rufus Reid(bass). Andy knows the chromatic language well and we definitely went into that zone.

A free piece on tenor with drummer Wolfgang Reisinger who is using electronics to accompany me, creating an unusual accompaniment to the tenor.

Preparing with Lee Konitz to record, he handed me the Lester Young solo from "Dickie's Dream," one of the landmark tracks from Prez' early recordings with Count Basie. On the record date for fun, Richie (Beirach) and me recorded the solo and played on it. This harkens back to my lessons wtih Lennie Tristano when I was 17 when I had to sing along with Lester-full circle.

"Dickies Dream"

This is one of my saxophone quartets, in fact this has been played a lot over the years. Beginning as a piano piece, this comes from a particular personal period of my life which is obvious from the title. I think what musicians like most about this piece is the ending 15/8 vamp which is a lot of fun to play on as I am doing here. These are some of the saxophonists from the WDR in Koln , Germany where I did many wonderful performances in the 90s.

This is from a live recording done at the old Knitting Factory in New York, 1995 when I first returned to tenor sax after a fifteen year hiatus. With me is Ellerie Eskelin and John Hollenbeck playing completely freely. Ellery now plays with me in the group Different But The Same with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Jim Black.

This features me on flute in a post Eric Dolphy, contemporary style. In fact, it reawakened my interest in performing on C-flute again after nearly 20 years. The other musicians are Joel Spencer (drums), Kelly Sils (bass), and John Campbell (piano).

Part One:

Part Two:

From a live performance of Gabriel Faure's "Reve d'Amour" done at Purchase College in Westchester, NY., this gig was in preparation for the recording "Vienna Dialogues" (Zoho) featuring pianist Bobby Avey and myself playing classical songs,. We chose most of the repertoire from from the Romantic era. This music is all about melody and harmony, and attempting to musically be oneself THROUGH the composer's language.

These tracks are from a record I did called “Picture Show” (available from P.M .Music) on which I play all the instruments. This was rather early in the synthesizer and multi tracking overdub days (mid 80s). The record (at that time LP) was reflections of various idioms and moods I enjoy playing in from jazz to rock to classical, and “world music.”

Drums and Tenor Duo:

Ethnic Suite - Indian Summer:

These two tracks are outtakes from my 1979 release "Dedications" which is out of print at this point, and obviously are dedicated to my parents.

Mother - Solo Flute:

Father - Solo Tenor:

This is from a recently recorded solo project on tenor saxophone, which is a completely free improvisation.

This is a recording of a solo soprano saxophone piece which is published and available through Caris Music Services. It is titled "Elvin," obviously for Mr. Jones, and based on thematic aspects from Elvin's original composition which I recorded in 1971, "Three Card Molly." The soprano saxophonist is Jean Charles Richard, a former student from Paris who obviously excels in both classical and jazz, as is the case in many European musicians. Though the music was written for solo soprano, as it is dedicated to Elvin Jones, it can be accompanied by drums in a free form style, incorporating mallets, brushes and sticks both in and out of pulse. On this track, I am playing drums.

On this tune taken from a recent performance in Europe with the World View Trio (Wolfgang Reisinger on drums, Jean Paul Celea on bass), I am playing piano. It is an encore tune which we usually do free meaning no discussion or idea of what will transpire. I like this take for its sense of surprise and basic brevity. Also you can hear the incredible expertise of Celea who is also the classical bass teacher at the famous Paris Conservatory, quite a feat to pull off in the conservative academic world of France.

This excerpt is from a very different kind of jam session in the old port Jaffa near Tel Aviv, Israel, where I jammed with several drummers for hours on end. My good friend Leon Segal was also present in the drum corps. This kind of playing is reminiscent of the old loft sessions that I have written so much about that took place in the late '60s. Basically, the music has a late Trane vibe in which one just lets everything go.

This is a live version of “Little Peanut” which was originally recorded on “Songs for My Daughter (Soul Note)” from the Santa Fe Jazz Festival, October 2000, after a Japanese tour. It features, along with Vic Juris on guitar and Tony Marino on bass, the newest addition to the group, Marko Marcinko on drums. The tune itself is merely a simple head that allows for open and free improvising as the mood strikes us.