{"id":3351,"date":"2021-10-22T16:37:48","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T21:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2021-11-02T09:32:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T14:32:36","slug":"eclecticism-continued-liebman-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/eclecticism-continued-liebman-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Eclecticism Continued: A Conversation with Dave Liebman (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The second part of our conversation with Dave Liebman covers his incredible debut as a leader<em>, Lookout Farm <\/em>(ECM, 1973).  But it focuses primarily on two of the saxophonist&#8217;s more recent projects. First, we discuss his longtime collaboration with pianist Richie Beirach and their recent five CD release &#8211; with special guest Jack Dejohnette<em>&#8211; Empathy<\/em> (Delta Music, 2021). We conclude with a lengthy discussion on the influence of another saxophone great, John Coltrane: Liebman&#8217;s time as a teenager witnessing the raw power and beauty of the legend&#8217;s music firsthand at Birdland, his time with Elvin Jones, and his stunning new recording with his Expansions quintet, <em>Selflessness<\/em> (Dot Time, 2021).  Read the first part <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/eclecticism-continued-liebman-i\/\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PostGenre: <\/strong>After your time with Miles, you recorded <em>Lookout Farm<\/em>. It is overlooked in some circles but is really an incredible album.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Dave Liebman: <\/strong>Thank you.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>One really fascinating thing about it is that in addition to jazz, the album pulls from music from different cultures around the world. The guitar sounds maybe a little Spanish. Then you have Badal Roy on tablas. Over the past two decades or so, there has been an increased emphasis on melding influences around the world into music coming from the jazz tradition. Do you feel like <em>Lookout Farm <\/em>was in some ways ahead of its time in this sense?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"150\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/pablos-story\/1443613267?i=1443613564\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL: <\/strong>I don\u2019t know about it being ahead of its time but it was definitely on time. We did have the tablas and on one recording, <em>Sweet Hands <\/em>(Horizon, 1975), we went full into those Indian influences by adding ektar, tamboura, and sitar.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_UgA1umRPayI\"><div id=\"lyte_UgA1umRPayI\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UgA1umRPayI\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UgA1umRPayI\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/UgA1umRPayI\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>On <em>Lookout Farm,<\/em> the idea was that each of the four tunes had a different kind of vibe, with each representing an interest of mine at the time. <em>Lookout Farm <\/em>was in tune to the times. You had acoustic bass and electric bass. You had electric piano and acoustic piano. Drums and tablas. It was a great period and the music represents our influences being shaped into a band.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>The four tunes on <em>Lookout Farm<\/em> are the same things I\u2019ve been playing throughout my life. I\u2019m incredibly proud to have that album as my first as a leader. I often tell younger musicians to be very careful with their first recording and think about the implications of releasing it. Your first record will always be something you are judged for. Last week I received a royalty statement that after almost forty years the album has sold 25,000 copies. That was a necessary stage in my career.&nbsp;<\/p><p>One night in Brazil with Miles I told him I was leaving him to form my own band. He asked me why and I told him I had the guys and the music I wanted to play well-rehearsed.&nbsp; \u201cAre you going to play that corny shit of eight-bar cycles?\u201d [laughing]. And I said, \u201clook man, you did it for forty years.\u201d [laughing]. Again, he was funny. Only a few words at a time, but a funny guy.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>But the core of the fusion thing is Weather Report. When Joe [Zawinul] and Wayne [Shorter] went out to form the group, they ended up making music that was really the band of that era. They reflected pop, rock, and world music. Even Cannonball Adderley\u2019s influence is in there because of his work with Zawinul. In a way, Weather Report was the band that represented this whole ten-year period of the 1970s.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG:<\/strong> One of the members of the Lookout Farm was Richie Beirach. You have worked with Richie on several different projects over the decades. What do you think it is in his musical ideas that resonate so well with yours and vice versa?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL: <\/strong>Well, socially we have a good time. We actually came from the same neighborhood. We didn\u2019t know each other growing up because there\u2019s so many people in Brooklyn. But the roots of who we are were pretty much spelled out musically and socially by the late 1960s. He was a guy I could talk to who offered his extensive knowledge concerning&nbsp; 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century harmony, which I was interested in. That\u2019s what separates us from many other duos. After all, we could \u201cjam\u201d on Bartok!!&nbsp;<\/p><p>Our relationship was really based on eclectic influences. When people ask me about the music of the 1970s or 1960s, I always offer them eclectic as the one word to best describe the times. Before the 1970s, that jumping around in styles didn\u2019t really exist. Jazz was based on the blues and rhythm changes but it had really a limited repertoire that was molded by different people like Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and Horace Silver. By the 1960s, this repertoire was mostly gone even though people still play it today. Instead, the music had melded into other things that were going on musically. Musicians had to find a way to instill this vibe of the repertoire into what was happening contemporaneously.&nbsp; Even now, Richie and I keep working together. We just put out a five-CD set [<em>Empathy<\/em>] of completely free playing with Jack DeJohnette on one of the CDs. Richie and I still talk to each other pretty much every day.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_IhTlIdTP_aU\"><div id=\"lyte_IhTlIdTP_aU\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/IhTlIdTP_aU\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/IhTlIdTP_aU\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/IhTlIdTP_aU\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>On the topic of new recordings, one of your most recent releases was <em>Selflessness<\/em> (Dot Time, 2021) where your Expansions quintet visited the music of John Coltrane. You have long mentioned your admiration of Coltrane\u2019s music from the time you saw him perform at Birdland in 1962. One thing we had jumped over in going from Ten Wheel Drive to Miles was your time with Elvin Jones. Was it surreal to be the saxophonist in the band of the guy who had made such great recordings with your hero?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL:<\/strong> Oh yeah. Oh god yes. I pinched myself a lot. To go from listening to Elvin and Coltrane to being in Elvin\u2019s band was incredible. Obviously, it made me feel very good. I had accomplished something that most of my peers didn\u2019t. But at the same time, it was incredibly nerve-wracking. I kept thinking about it in terms of the dynamic between Coltrane and Elvin. So Jeff Williams and I would play a 20-minute duet to fulfill the Coltrane legacy. Of course, you can\u2019t do that. Every band is different and Elvin wasn\u2019t going to go back and play the way he had played for Coltrane with Dave Liebman or Steve Grossman!! That would be blasphemous. Elvin didn\u2019t think of it that way though, he just played. Being in those shoes was definitely heavy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_qC5xbn2k0YE\"><div id=\"lyte_qC5xbn2k0YE\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/qC5xbn2k0YE\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/qC5xbn2k0YE\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/qC5xbn2k0YE\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>One thing Elvin does that is emblematic is how he plays behind the beat on the ride cymbal. No one does it better than him and I had to learn it. Nothing is on paper. It has to do with the pulse and lining up of beats. Dexter Gordon is one of the chiefs of this way to play. But Elvin, as the drummer, made sure that we had to be on the case or you are going to sound wrong. That took me about four to six months to get used to. But from then on, I could play behind the beat with no problem. Very small mountain to climb but very important to do.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Elvin was a very pleasant person. He had been through a lot, no question about it. He was trying to get off of medication at the time. Once in a while, he would drink a little bit more than he should and start acting a little strange, but that was forgotten by the morning. [Laughing]. I loved Elvin. I love his presence, his vibe, and of course his playing. He represented a very warm, inclusive and non-regimented way of being. There was an honesty in his playing\u2026..something really true and real when he would sit down at the drums. I put Elvin right up there with my father in terms of&nbsp; respect.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>Do you feel like the things that first drew you to Coltrane\u2019s music and what fascinated you about him when you were 15 years old are the same things that interest you in his music now or have you found more depth in the music as you have continued to listen to it over time?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL:<\/strong> Definitely more depth. Coltrane covered basically everything in the span of only ten years. Well, twelve years officially. From \u201855 to \u201865. And by \u201867 he was not playing much. He had it covered. But the more you listen, the deeper and deeper you find yourself in his music. Like anything else that you enjoy, that quality will continue to open up like a rose. If you can nourish it and let it be, it can really grow.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>You have made several excellent Coltrane albums over the years. What do you feel sets <em>Selflessness<\/em> apart from those?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL: <\/strong>I didn\u2019t do any of Coltrane\u2019s music in any significant way in the \u201860s, \u201870s, and into the \u201880s. I refused to do it because I didn\u2019t want to get caught up in people trying to compare my sound to Coltrane\u2019s \u2026 which of course ended up happening anyway. By the mid-80s, a French label approached me with the idea of doing a Coltrane album and I decided to go for it. That one was <em>Homage to John Coltrane<\/em> (Owl, 1987) and is half electric, half acoustic.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_EHx2yoOiZIM\"><div id=\"lyte_EHx2yoOiZIM\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/EHx2yoOiZIM\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EHx2yoOiZIM\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/EHx2yoOiZIM\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I decided that if I was going to do Coltrane\u2019s music, I was going to adapt it to my way of playing. And that adaptation is what has guided the six or seven records I\u2019ve done of Coltrane\u2019s music. Not everything is starkly different but they were different enough that every time I was working on one, I was using arrangements that were different from what anyone else was doing.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>With <em>Selflessness<\/em>, I get to perform with my new band. We\u2019ve been together for about five years now and these guys play differently, especially the piano player Bobby Avey. They have a different way of listening, just as we did when my generation came on the scene with the older guys like Elvin or Miles. You could almost make a case &#8230; (I should do it someday)&#8230; that every ten years jazz&nbsp; significantly changes. I go back and compare some basic solos over a song like \u201cAll the Things You Are\u201d to a decade later when people were playing free. You are going to hear a whole different thing from musicians who are in their prime right now and represent a whole different era. So I decided to take advantage of the younger guys and their approaches,&nbsp; just throw the music out there and see what we could do.&nbsp;<\/p><p>I\u2019m seventy-five years old. Who knows how much longer I have.&nbsp; I feel like <em>Selflessness <\/em>could be the last Coltrane album I do and then finally put it to sleep.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>As you point out, Expansions is a young group. But at the same time, you opted to include Tony Marino, a well-established player, on bass. What was behind the idea of surrounding yourself with younger artists on other instruments but not bass?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL: <\/strong>&nbsp;Ultimately, I wanted to make sure that the bassist holds the drummer right and Tony is great at that. I wasn\u2019t going to go out there with a bunch of musicians without someone else who can also help tie things together. I\u2019ve recorded more with Tony than with anyone else, except Richie. He\u2019s one of my indispensable guys.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG:&nbsp; <\/strong>The band\u2019s album right before <em>Selflessness <\/em>was <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/dave-liebmans-expansions-groups-earth-album-reviewed\/\"><em>Earth<\/em> (Whaling City, 2020)<\/a>. On that album, the focus was heavily on using sound textures to create ambient textures. Do you feel like that emphasis on textures influenced <em>Selflessness<\/em>?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL:&nbsp; <\/strong><em>Earth <\/em>is definitely a texture record. You\u2019re not playing C7 as a harmonic point anymore. Instead, you\u2019re playing the movement and the feeling of movement. I really enjoyed that record. Of course &#8230; just like most things we do \u2026 it didn\u2019t get any attention.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_WThUl1TcL58\"><div id=\"lyte_WThUl1TcL58\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/WThUl1TcL58\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WThUl1TcL58\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/WThUl1TcL58\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>But <em>Selflessness<\/em> is primarily a jazz record, as it should be. I mean some of the arrangements definitely cast things in a different light than people may be used to but at its core, it is a jazz record. We actually recorded it a few years ago. I just wanted to make one more Coltrane album, even if it meant putting the recording in my pocket for a while.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>You play soprano on the entirety of the album. Of course, you are probably best known for your work on soprano. What do you think draws you more to the soprano compared to other instruments you play like the tenor, flute, or clarinet?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL:<\/strong> It\u2019s a straight horn. The straightness of it, like a trumpet, leads you to different avenues. I don\u2019t know why, but it does. I do feel physically different when I play soprano. I haven\u2019t touched the tenor in a year and a half or so now. But it\u2019s not the first time I put the tenor aside. I had quit the tenor from around \u201880 to \u201895. I took a break at that time for a variety of reasons, one being that I felt playing soprano would allow me to have more of an effect on jazz music because there weren\u2019t that many soprano players in 1980-81. I had already gone through a period of my life where I had played only soprano. With the Expansions band, I figured I would basically be the straight guy and the other guys would sort of paint pictures around me.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: <\/strong>What motivated you to have a second woodwind player in the band?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL:<\/strong> Well, Matt [Vashlishan] is very adaptable. He\u2019s also very good with electronic instruments. I love the colors he gets on them. That is part of the charm of <em>Selflessness<\/em> for me, that we are playing in a contemporary language on tunes that are identified with the jazz repertoire. I thought it would be a nice contrast between those electronic sounds and some of the more traditional and changing instrumentation of the group. There is a lot of variety on that record which is my usual MO.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG:<\/strong> Which in some ways goes back to the eclecticism of sound you were mentioning earlier. You have recorded a wide range of music across many albums. As a leader, you have over 250 albums to your credit. Are there two or three that you are particularly proud of?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>DL: <\/strong>There are a few with Richie that stand out, especially <em>Forgotten Fantasies<\/em> (Horizon 1976)<em>. <\/em>And, of course, <em>Lookout Farm. <\/em>Also<em> <\/em>the albums I did with Quest, particularly <em>Of One Mind<\/em> (CMP, 1990).&nbsp;<\/p><p>But I would say that <em>The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner <\/em>(CMP, 1986) is one that really stands out to me. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"150\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/the-runner-mind-body\/689298590?i=689298793\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p> It was dedicated to [Steve] Lacy. It also reflected me dealing with being an artist at midlife. I was 40 when I recorded that album and I wanted to express what I feel all artists deal with. The idea of a long distance runner and what he or she has to encounter is very similar and could be a metaphor for what we do as artists and what I specifically do with the saxophone. It was a way of painting a picture that was very autobiographical. (A lot of my music is autobiographical).&nbsp; Musically, the album was extremely challenging. Trying to stay in tune with four sopranos was definitely special. I also had to write more for it than many other projects I\u2019ve done. All soprano, all overdubbed. At one point we were playing with eight sopranos but I really didn\u2019t want to turn it into a circus. It was the text that really tied it all together.&nbsp; I wrote about the race; the long distance runner as a metaphor for the artist\u2019s commitment to beauty and truth.&nbsp; It fascinates me how we become this thing called an artist and then we have to figure it all out!!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More information about Dave Liebman can be found on his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/davidliebman.com\/home\/\">website.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dave Liebman\u2019s Expansions Quintet\u2019s new album,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dottimerecords.com\/product\/dave-liebman-expansions-selflessness\/\"><em>Selflessness<\/em>, is now available on Dot Time Records.&nbsp;<\/a><em>Empathy,&nbsp;<\/em>his five-CD set with longtime collaborator Richie Beirach and special guest Jack DeJohnette, can be&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Empathy-Dave-Beirach-Richie-Liebman\/dp\/B096TN7FTM\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=beirach+liebman&amp;qid=1634776389&amp;qsid=146-0276496-8179916&amp;sr=8-1&amp;sres=B096TN7FTM%2CB07CPF2G72%2CB00069I83Q%2CB004J8H7QY%2CB008YGN9K0%2CB01MDKE9XM%2CB07C7BJLDV%2CB004JKDXTC%2CB07QFG8Q4V%2CB078NHMNPY%2CB003XKDF6U%2CB07CPPMQQ8%2CB005ECVF76%2CB00L0EFWAS%2CB00L0E9BU0%2CB00KJJQ538&amp;srpt=ABIS_MUSIC\">purchased in our Amazon Affiliate store.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;s more recent projects. First, we discuss his longtime collaboration with pianist Richie Beirach and their recent five CD release &#8211; with special guest Jack Dejohnette&#8211; Empathy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3352,"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":68,"_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":[582],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/EXPANSIONS-Group.jpg?fit=700%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-S3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/dave-liebmans-expansions-groups-earth-album-reviewed\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":0},"title":"Review: Dave Liebman\u2019s Expansions Group\u2019s \u2018Earth\u2019","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"January 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dave Liebman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dave-Liebman-pic-COTA-e-P9093688-300-dpi-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3331,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/eclecticism-continued-liebman-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":1},"title":"Eclecticism Continued: A Conversation with Dave Liebman (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"October 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"For over fifty years, Dave Liebman has been at the forefront of musical creativity. Whether his time as a sideman with artists including Miles Davis and Elvin Jones or his own works like Lookout Farm (ECM, 1973) or The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner (CMP, 1986) or his various\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/LBCGB-191015-092bw_%C2%A9Attila-Kleb1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/LBCGB-191015-092bw_%C2%A9Attila-Kleb1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/LBCGB-191015-092bw_%C2%A9Attila-Kleb1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/LBCGB-191015-092bw_%C2%A9Attila-Kleb1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2388,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/hof-on-the-corner\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":2},"title":"2020 PostGenre Hall of Fame Inductee: Miles Davis&#8217; &#8216;On the Corner&#8217;","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"January 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAn insult to the intellect of the people.\u201d \u201cRepetitious crap.\u201d \u201cPure arrogance.\u201d These are just a few of the choice descriptions provided to Miles Davis\u2019 On the Corner (Columbia, 1972) upon its initial release. Or, as Stan Getz described it, \u201c[t]hat music is worthless. It means nothing; there is no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hall of Fame&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hall of Fame","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/hall-of-fame\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/On-the-Corner.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/On-the-Corner.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/On-the-Corner.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/On-the-Corner.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2977,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jazz-part-xiv\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":3},"title":"A History of the Newport Jazz Festival \u2013 Chapter XIV: Destinations, 2005-2009","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"July 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"With the success of the 50th Anniversary event, Festival Productions Inc. quickly began work on the 2005 Festival. Like the immediately preceding year, George Wein would be unable to attend the Fort\u2019s proceedings. This time it was not due to his own health but that of his wife\u2019s. Joyce Wein\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Newport Jazz Festival History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Newport Jazz Festival History","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/special-series\/newport-jazz-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/BeFunky-collage13.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/BeFunky-collage13.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/BeFunky-collage13.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/BeFunky-collage13.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3608,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/rob-shepherds-favorite-albums-of-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":4},"title":"Rob Shepherd&#8217;s Favorite Albums of 2021","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"December 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"In some ways, 2021 can be seen as a return of music. In reality, through live-stream and various recordings, music continued to be created the year before. But 2021 felt like- to steal a subtitle of one of the albums on my top ten list- a freeing out of our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-list1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-list1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-list1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021-list1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2796,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/newport-jazz-part-xiii\/","url_meta":{"origin":3351,"position":5},"title":"A History of the Newport Jazz Festival &#8211; Chapter XIII: Echoes of the Past, 2004","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"June 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"An intense and unceasing downpour left a twenty-eight-year-old George Wein with the difficult question of whether to abruptly cancel his new jazz festival. In response, he adopted a \u201crain or shine\u201d policy which refused to stop the music. This mindset served the Newport Jazz Festival well over the years. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Newport Jazz Festival History&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Newport Jazz Festival History","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/special-series\/newport-jazz-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BeFunky-collage11.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BeFunky-collage11.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BeFunky-collage11.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BeFunky-collage11.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3351"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3400,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions\/3400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}