{"id":11,"date":"2020-01-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/\/?p=11"},"modified":"2020-02-20T17:29:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T23:29:12","slug":"dave-liebmans-expansions-groups-earth-album-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/dave-liebmans-expansions-groups-earth-album-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Dave Liebman\u2019s Expansions Group\u2019s \u2018Earth\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scientists estimate that the earth vibrates at varying frequencies between 7.83 and 33.8 Hz. Of course, music also consists of rhythmic waves, though they are limited to our unaided hearing range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. As a result, many of our planet\u2019s tones are wholly incapable of being perceived. Earth<\/em>, the latest Expansions album led by saxophonist Dave Liebman undertakes the Herculean act of transforming the entirety of planetary sounds into a human auditory experience. At this effort, the band overwhelmingly succeeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On \u201cVolcano\/Avalanche\u201d one sonically witnesses the fury of plates sliding against one another with explosive results. \u201cThe Sahara\u201d shifts to a lonely camel rider trotting across a beautiful, yet desolate and arid, land only to be subsumed by a violent sandstorm. \u201cGrand Canyon\/Mt Everest\u201d depicts great high and low natural contours which later transform to the urban and artificial ones of \u201cConcrete Jungle.\u201d Separating each main track is a series of solo (on one, duet) interludes which serve to transition between scenes as if traveling from place to place. By \u201cWind Synth Interlude\u201d these voyages move out of orbit to viewing the \u201cGalaxy\u201d more broadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/soundcloud.com\/whaling-city-sound\/earth-theme\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Earth<\/em> is a heavily exploratory musical affair, both \ncompositionally and in terms of delivery. Each song utilizes specific \nintervallic elements to better express their subject. \u201cSahara\u201d relies on\n major and minor seconds to depict heat and sun whereas \u201cConcrete \nJungle\u201d portrays hectic city life by fourths and fifths. In doing so, \nthe musicians emphasize texture above traditional notions of harmony or \nmelody. This method of songwriting does not always succeed or advance \nthe album\u2019s overarching concept. The two versions of \u201cEarth Theme\u201d, for \ninstance, seem to distract from the record\u2019s overall arc more than add \nto it. Placing the primary focus on feeling rather than more traditional\n musical hallmarks is also likely to be off-putting to some listeners. \nNevertheless, the unique techniques adopted generally strengthen the \nartists\u2019 storytelling and render even the primarily electronic \nsoundscapes \u2013 with soprano sax the only consistently acoustic instrument\n \u2013 uncharacteristically reflective of the work\u2019s emphasis on natural and\n organic topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many ways, this group is the perfect setting to examine this particular music. The bandleader himself is no novice to expressing natural elements through sound, as this is the fourth of his such releases after 1997\u2019s Water<\/em>, 2006\u2019s Air<\/em>, and 2016\u2019s Fire<\/em>. Nor is he a stranger to mixing various tones to paint a picture. After all, the NEA Jazz Master is a prominent figure on one of the most musically diverse (and arguably best) albums of all time, Miles Davis\u2019 On the Corner<\/em><\/a>, the influence of which is readily apparent on \u201cGalaxy\u201d. And that is not even getting into how Liebman\u2019s masterwork Lookout Farm<\/a><\/em> or the hundreds of other recordings to his credit guide the current one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, however, Earth<\/em> is truly a collaborative effort as each of the band\u2019s members shine throughout. Given its complexity, it often seems like the quintet \u2013 Liebman on soprano sax, pianist Bobby Avey, windplayer Matt Vashlishan, drummer Alex Ritz and bassist Tony Marino \u2013 is attempting to disguise itself as a much larger ensemble. The collective is simultaneously tight, expressive, and inventive. While their three preceding releases presented interesting approaches to jazz standards, classical pieces, and originals, Earth<\/em> feels like Expansion\u2019s most fully realized work to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earth<\/em>, the new album by Dave Liebman\u2019s Expansions Group drops February 7th via Whaling City Sound<\/a>.

This review was originally published on Nextbop<\/a> on January 27, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists estimate that the earth vibrates at varying frequencies between 7.83 and 33.8 Hz. Of course, music also consists of rhythmic waves, though they are limited to our unaided hearing range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. As a result, many of our planet\u2019s tones are wholly incapable of being perceived. Earth, the latest Expansions album […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":12,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[14,12,9,10,13,7,15,20],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-alex-ritz","tag-bobby-avey","tag-dave-liebman","tag-earth","tag-matt-vashlishan","tag-rob-shepherd","tag-tony-marino","tag-whaling-city-sound-earth"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-b","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3351,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/eclecticism-continued-liebman-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":11,"position":0},"title":"Eclecticism Continued: A Conversation with Dave Liebman (Part Two)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"October 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The second part of our conversation with Dave Liebman covers his incredible debut as a leader, Lookout Farm (ECM, 1973). But it focuses primarily on two of the saxophonist's more recent projects. 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