Big BandMosaic Select: Pendulum (MS-032)
Mosaic Select
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"The unique relationship that was cultivated between Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach beginning in 1969 was exceptional. The deep symbiosis between them grew over the decade that followed and by the time of this gig at the Vanguard, their creative partnership had become one of the great unions in post-bop jazz." |
In February 1978, saxophonist Dave Liebman assembled Pendulum, a formidable quintet with trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Frank Tusa and drummer Al Foster.
The group was assembled for a one-week engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Sadly, its lifespan was that one gig, but fortunately John Snyder of Artists House Records and engineer David Baker were on hand to record the last two nights of the run.
The following year, stunning performances of Beirach's Pendulum, Liebman's Picadilly Lilly and Wayne Shorter's Footprint were issued on an Artists House LP. The label soon fell into inactivity and this critically acclaimed album by five post-bop masters fell off the radar.
Case closed until Liebman recently revisited those tapes and came up with three CDs of explosive music with scorching versions of "Solar", "Well, You Needn't", "Blue Bossa", "Impressions" and more. Fueled by Al Foster's unrelenting fire, Liebman, Brecker and Beirach take chorus after brilliant chorus. This might be the finest example of what an extraordinary improvising artist Randy Becker is; few recordings capture him at this level.
This is hard-hitting modern jazz performed by musicians who grew up on hard bop and informed it with the later innovations of John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
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Collective Post Bop Improvisation At A Nose Bleed Level of Quality |
| I've got bad news and good news about Mosaic's re-release of Dave Liebman Quintet's classic Pendulum date, which includes not only the original recording, but a number of other tunes that were recording during the two-night gig at the Village Vanguard. The bad news is that none of the tunes that were left in the can back then are immortal classics like Footprints or Pendulum from the original date (for descriptions of these tunes, see my review Pendulum - Dave Liebman Quintet). The good news is that most of the tunes are better than Picaddilly Lilly, the Dave Liebman penned chord changes tune that rounded out the original release. I always suspected that Picaddilly Lilly was chosen because of its short length rather than because of its artistic merits. Basically, it's there because it fits on the album. Since it's a Dave Liebman original and not as well known by the band members, it's played in a respectfully straight forward fashion that just isn't all that interesting. In contrast, most of the additional tunes chosen for the Mosaic set are standards, ruthlessly deconstructed and explored within an inch of their lives. None of the covers is less than 17 minutes and not a minute is wasted. What becomes abundantly clear listening to these additional tunes is that saxophonist Dave Liebman is almost a sideman in his own band. He may be calling the tunes off of the bandstand, but pianist Richie Beirach is driving the group. Beirach is incredibly aggressive, both in terms of rhythm and harmony. He frequently employs rhythmic ostinatos to alter the original pulse of the standards, pumping up the energy and providing a stimulus for the other musicians to play off of. And he's just relentless in terms of mutating the harmonies of the original tunes. Very often, you won't recognize a tune until you're a minute or two in because it's been altered so severely. But Beirach is far from being the whole show. He's just the catalyst. Give Dave Liebman credit for assembling a band which is tailor made for the rhythmic and harmonic approach of Richie Beirach and every bit as good as any band that Miles Davis or John Coltrane ever fielded. A strong statement, but I believe it's warranted. Take trumpeter Randy Brecker. In his previous work, you can hear his natural tendency to reconstruct harmony and play outside, even in a relatively straight ahead context. Here that's his whole job, and he takes to it like a pig that's fallen into a vat of buttermilk. He's brilliant, the preemininent trumpeter in this style. Then there's Dave Liebman. By the gig at the Village Vanguard, Liebman and Beirach already had a long history playing together, either in Liebman's fusion band Lookout Farm or in a duet format. Their's is one of the great partnerships in jazz. Liebman's passion plays off of the sometimes clinical, analytical approach of Beirach. They've always tended to want to reharmonize standards and play up the resulting dissonance and tension, and their work together here is simply a logical extension of their discoveries up to that point, applied to post bop rather than fusion. Liebman is in blistering form throughout the date, and the extended lengths of the tunes allow him to thoroughly explore the implications of Beirach's twisted harmonies. Frank Tusa is the perfect bassist for this material. You can't rely on the standard bag of tricks when you're playing behind Richie Beirach. You have to be on your toes. Tusa responds to the challenge with the some of the most lucid bass playing I've ever heard. He's constantly responding to what Beirach does rhythmically, sometimes strumming the accoustic bass almost like a percussion instrument. His walking is always tasteful, always original and never a cliche. His tone is gutsy and beautiful. I tend not to notice bass players, but Frank Tusa doesn't disappear into the background, even in this band of consummate professionals. Al Foster kills on the drums. Like everyone on this date, he's got huge ears, and responds to the lead of Richie Beirach. Foster also swings like mad and plays very clean. You never get the feeling that Foster is vamping or playing empty fills. Every beat is there for a reason. His solos are almost melodic in their conception, respect the form of the tunes, and develop logically. What you've got in Pendulum Live At The Village Vanguard is the ultimate post bop quintet, let loose and devouring everything in its path. It's true that nothing else on this Mosaic three disk set reaches the perfection of Footprints or Pendulum, but what you have is still burning collective improvisation, consistently sustained at a nose bleed level of quality. Michael Kydonieus JazzboNotes.com | |
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holy impressions batman |
| ok lets get real, ive waited for this for a long time, i had the lp long ago, and this was one of my favorite live jazz performances ever, man lieb is under valued, those who know, well we know ,lieb is the greatest living saxophonist, dispute it if you will, but this man gets better with age, big band ,funky side projects, you name it,but what i need to know, is how did he channel trane on that smokin , impressions, i mean its pretty close, im sure he cringes at it, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,but goodness this was a special performance,why has this not seen the light of day,maybe lieb was a little shy , you know the jazz ego.you want to be your own man, well lieb you are, and i love you the way you are, and thanks mosaic for this reissue and the big bonuses. ill be waiting for more.sure beats the hell out of paying 139 dollars for the lp on amazon. | |
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Absolutely genious! |
| I got the three CDs four days ago. I am still working through the beauty of the first one. And I am eagerly awaiting the long 4th of July weekend to get through the two other ones... It is so brilliant, sophisticated and I am glad that you guys made this stuff accessible! | |
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Killin' post bop from the "lost years" of Jazz |
| First off thank you Mosaic and Dave Liebman for finally getting this session onto CD. I've been listening to the vinyl version of "Pendulum" for years and was resigend to the fact that I would have to fire up my turntable every time I wanted to hear this excellent set. The liner notes are right on target saying how according to the neo-cons Jazz "went away" during the '70's but that this CD is proof positive that that's a bald faced lie. This is some of the finest group improvising available in a post bop setting. The originals are in a modal vibe but even the standards end up in heady, creative territory once the solos come around. The lineup on this disc should speak for itself. These are some of the finest players on the New York scene but most of all this sounds like a BAND not a "supergroup" session. Everybody plays on an exceedingly high level and for me this is some of Al Foster's finest playing on record. The only caveat might be the way the bass and piano were recorded. The bass has the direct input sound that was so prevalent in the '70's and the piano also has a kind of dead DI quality to it. But believe me the quality of music and the playing more than makes up for that so I still give it the highest possible rating. Anyone who has the LP version of Pendulum has probably already snatched this up. If not your in for a treat. | |
Mosaic Select: Pendulum (MS-032)
Limited Edition: copies
3 CDs - $44.00
