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 | Artist: Liebman,David | | Title: "Monk's Mood" | | Media: Compact Discs | | Label: DTR | | Rel: 1999-09-14 |  | | List: $16.98 (Save 25%) | | Your Price: $12.75 |
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Review 1
4 1/2 Star (**** 1/2) Down Beat Magazine review in August 2000 issue.
Liebman proves himself a grounded, pragmatic visionary at the peak of his imaginative
powers on a beautifully paced session comprising interpretations of some of
the gnarliest progressions and most luscious melodies of Thelonious Monk's oeuvre.
He divides his time between the soprano sax, his more recent horn of choice, which he
plays with a bright tone and highly vocalized sound ("Pannonica," "Gallop's Gallop,"
"Intro-spection," "Skippy"), and the tenor, through which he projects a resonant edge,
telling the story with the tones between the notes ("Teo," "Nutty," "Reflections," "Ugly
Beauty," "Monk's Dream"). - Ted Panken. | Players
Dave Liebman - Saxophones
Eddie Gomez - Bass
Adam Nussbaum - Drums | Tracks
1. Monk’s Mood
2. Teo
3. Pannonica
4. Nutty
5. Reflections
6. Gallop’s Gallop
7. Ugly Beauty
8. Monk’s Dream
9. Introspection
10. Skippy
11. Monk’s Mood
Total Time 58:08 | Liner Notes
Fast approaching the millennium, there are far too many sheep and precious few music
shepherds in our midst.
Thelonious Sphere Monk, 1917-1982, was a genuine shepherd, one of those rare artists whose
perspective and approach were so idiosyncratic that he would forever change the way people heard jazz.
Monk pared his music down to its bare bones, revealing a nearly geometric sensibility of distinctive,
curiously-accented rhythms and offbeat, angular melodies that flirted with atonality. His melodies are
angular, his harmonies full of jarring clusters, and he uses both notes and the absence of notes in
unexpected ways.
Only Duke Ellington and arguably Charles Mingus are the equals of Thelonious Monk as a
composer. Monk’s creations force musicians to exert themselves to their fullest, and to put a premium
on surprise. His compositions demand and exact incisive improvisation from the musicians who play
them. In the language of jazz, that is truly high praise, hence one of Monk’s nicknames, the High
Priest of Jazz.
David Liebman is a modern day musical avatar, an inspiration. A veritable individualist in the
spirit of his musical forefathers who has never compromised his artistic integrity, Liebman pursued his
own eclectic path with dogged determination. One need only examine the body of Liebman’s work for
the evidence, for he has recorded over sixty times as a leader during his thirty year plus career.
The idea behind this recording was, according to Lieb, “to play Monk’s music without a chord
instrument, like the piano or guitar, and secondarily, to put a different rhythmic feel on each tune.”
According, with this perfectly suited trio, there’s a zen-like feel, capturing the bare essence of Monk.
Liebman has previously utilized the trio format effectively, notably his first group, Open Sky, and in
more recent collaborations with French musicians, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland, and on a CD of
Cole Porter compositions. “I used a trio for the same reason as here, with Monk’s music, to make
those tunes come alive without the chords.”
All of Monk’s melodies have touched Lieb but “it’s the ballads that kill me. The ballads and their
melodies are what really brought me into the record. They show that you don’t need the harmony—you
don’t need a chordal instrument to get the full hit of the tune, which demonstrates the extraordinary
substance of Monk’s music. The melodies stand up on their own..”
Liebman wanted pure Monk in these grooves, so “I took the exact leadsheets of Bill Dobbins’
transcriptions of Monk’s original recordings. I tried to have Eddie play, as much as possible, exactly
what was on the originals. He was able to play more than just the root, but 5ths, 7ths, and 10ths on top
of the chord. Only two or three people in the world could have done that. I didn’t think it would be
possible to get Eddie for this recording and when he said yes, I knew I could arrange the music
challengingly with a lot of open intervals, third and tenths, that a lot of guys just couldn’t play.”
Gomez and Liebman have collaborated on a half a dozen recordings, including Liebman’s
String Quartet (Dedications, on DMP) and in a trio with drummer Bobby Moses (Spirit Renewed, Owl
Records).
Drummer Adam Nussbaum, who worked with Lieb repeatedly, including his late 70's Quintet which also
featured John Scofield and Terumasa Hino, is one of the “great, swinging straightahead drummers and
an expert in the jazz repertory as well. He knows every tune. When I was researching the music, he
came up with versions of ‘Skippy’ and ‘Gallop’s Gallop’ that I didn’t have. Adam is the kind of cat who
not only knows the tune, but the date it was recorded, the personnel, everything. He’s a walking
encyclopedia of jazz. Last summer, I did a gig with Adam and Rufus Reid on bass. We played
‘Nutty’ on that gig and that’s one of the reasons we did this recording.”
Lieb notes that Gomez’ bass has a “different sound on this recording, it’s darker than usual.
He’s usually a bit more pointed with treble to his sound. For whatever reason, the combination of Kent
Heckman, the studio engineer and Eddie, he got a darker sound than usual and it fills up the whole
bottom of the music. Consequently the tone of this record is a darker color and I play in a more muted
vein. It goes well with Monk’s music.”
“There’s a certain kind of humor in Monk’s music,” Lieb adds. “It can invite cuteness, but I don’t see it
that way. The music has some pointed angles that can be seen that way, but for me to play it cute
would be a mistake. ‘Teo’ goes a bit in that direction, with a certain impishness, so we put a reggae
vibe on it. ‘Skippy,’ as well, with its continuous 8th note line is kind of sing song-like, which could be
cute but Monk, you’ve got to be careful not to go into parody. His music is very witty and invites that
but without the piano present, it’s easier to get away from it.”
Lieb, who plays piano on the final track, ‘Monk’s Mood,” a duet with Gomez, believes that “you can’t
absorb Monk’s influence and not sound like him. With a common voice like Bud Powell or Trane,
you can submerge yourself, but once you play a Monk type thing, you’re Monk unless you change it
completely. That’s another reason we didn’t use a piano.”
On “Monk’s Mood,” David Lieibman has really gotten inside of Monk’s music, and in doing so, reaches a
new level in his own playing. He manages to inhabit the music to the point where studiousness and
mimicry disappear and originality breaks through. He doesn’t replicate Monk’s music, although he
perfectly understands it. To play these tunes well would be accomplishment enough, but Lieb and his
cohorts breathe new life and spirit into Monk’s music.
And so David Liebman’s creative journey continues. He has recorded many CDs and albums under his
own leadership as well as being a featured sideman on over one hundred and fifty. His artistic
output has ranged form straight ahead to chamber jazz; from fusion to avant garde and his remarkably
eclectic approach has always been marked by it's conviction, singular approach and a sense of
adventure so highly valued in Liebman’s aesthetic. Combined with his written works and teaching
activities, David Liebman defines the jazz artist in our time.
Bret Primack '99
* * *
One doesn’t enter Thelonius Sphere Monk’s world without trepidation for several reasons.
There are the many classic renditions of his music, especially by saxophonists like Newk, Trane and
Lacy. Then there is the special character of the songs-the exquisite confluence of melody, harmony,
rhythm, color and form. Like a diamond that changes as you view it from different angles, Monk’s music
provides countless variations of the same essence. When you see all the lead sheets together, the
music even physically looks as if it was cut from the same cloth. So many of the songs are similar but
each with its own singular identity. Musicians may have trouble remembering the titles of this or that
Monk tune, but they remember them in their heads.
I had seen Monk live many times in the 1960’s, often opposite Coltrane. I will admit that the
sameness of presentation, personnel, tempos and repertoire sometimes bored me. Of course there was
Monk’s “dance” to dig, but even that became commonplace. However, I always enjoyed playing tunes
like Bemsha Swing or Nutty, especially in a trio format. Their sparseness suggested angularity as well as
groove and they were fun to play.
In the early 90’s, I did a duet concert with Steve Lacy in Italy where we both played a solo set
before the actual duo portion. He played all Monk tunes which was quite impressive to me. Of course,
Lacy was an expert on Monk and has spent years exploring the compositions. About a a year ago, my
bassist, Tony Marino told me he was playing with a group of musicians from Philadelphia who played
only Monk tunes and would I be interested to do some gigs which I eagerly did. It was on these gigs
that I played many of Monk’s tunes and realized the incredible beauty and musical integrity of the
melodies themselves-especially the ballads. I would say now that “Pannonica” is one of my all time
favorite tunes.
Going into my files, I found transcriptions of all Monk’s tunes by Bill Dobbins, in which he
extracted what he considered the essence of the many versions some of these songs have. The idea of
doing the tunes without a piano is not so remarkable during the blowing part because after all Monk was
one of the great “strollers” of all time leaving the horn trio for many choruses. But the melodies would
have to be given consideration without a chording instrument and the bass would be crucial to the
project’s success.
There are only a few bassists who could fill up the middle and bottom of the music at the
same time as well as solo consistently. It doesn’t get much better than Eddie Gomez. And I would need
a solid, swinging drummer, so I enlisted my old compatriot from the early 80’s quintet that I led who
has been with me on several recordings, Adam Nussbaum, for the job.
My appreciation to Eddie for spending time looking for ways to fulfill his special role; to Dome
for research and musicality as always; to Monkadelphia for turning me on to Thelonius (now that I was
ready for it) and to Bill Dobbins for the transcriptions.
I hope you enjoy the world of Thelonius Sphere Monk-an artist of unique stature.
David Liebman |
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