Liz Martin

On Bird Songs :Charlie Parker’s music rethought and interpreted in fresh ways

Although he has recorded for Blue Note for 20 years, it is significant that saxophonist Joe Lovano’s recordings are now jointly credited to Us Five. Before putting together this exciting young band, Lovano was on a comfortable artistic plateau. The band of two drummers, bass and piano has received great acclaim and helped revitalize his music.

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On Bird Songs : On Bird Songs, the challenge facing saxophonist Joe Lovano—and it’s a formidable one—is to tastefully approach Charlie Parker’s iconic repertoire and his impeccably crafted alto saxophone playing as building blocks for previously unexplored possibilities. Bold strides are required, not timid tip-toeing, so the challenge is well suited to Lovano and Us Five, the group he began in 2008 with pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummers Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III.

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On Bird Songs : The legacy of Charlie Parker is something that every jazz musician has to contend with. As a co-creator of bebop up at Minton’s with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and others, Parker has assured his legacy by the time he died at age 34 in 1956. He was more than just a landmark innovator, as Bird’s outsized playing and personality in a community known for great playing and colorful characters makes him legend.

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On Bird Songs : Sax giant Joe Lovano has blown next to a bevy of jazz greats, and been applauded as soloist and leader throughout his nearly 40-year career. While it might seem surprising that audiences had to wait until his 22nd album for a tribute to Charlie Parker, Bird Songs demonstrates, once again, that Lovano does things his own way, and that great things are worth waiting for.

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On Bird Songs : Given its occasional tendency to revel in its rich past, you could argue that jazz needs another album dedicated to one of its titans about as much as it needs another 19-hour documentary series. But leave it to restless tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano to take the idea of a tribute record and turn it on its head with this collection dedicated to Charlie Parker.

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On Bird Songs :Joe Lovano / Us Five, ‘Bird Songs’

Saxophonist Joe Lovano has tried on a lot of bands and formats since joining the Blue Note label 20 years ago — duos, trios, quartets, big bands, near-classical ensembles. But his current quintet, Us Five, may be his finest. The band — which features pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding, and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela — put out the spectacular “Folk Art’‘ in 2009, and now they serve up “Bird Songs,’‘ a collection inspired by the work of Charlie Parker. But this is no mere tribute album. Parker’s compositions are not played as he intended (speedily, with torrents of notes); Lovano upends them, infusing them with modern sensibilities. Mostly they are slowed down, which gives the musicians room to roam beneath the chords and rhythms. “Blues Collage,’‘ is a jazz mash-up: Lovano, Weidman, and Spalding each play a different Parker tune at the same time, intertwining the melodies into a new song altogether. Lovano says the idea for this project began when Us Five performed in Barbados and broke out a new arrangement of Parker’s “Barbados,’‘ one with a Caribbean vibe. The tune is full of enthusiasm, and its ethos — finding something new to say through something familiar — encapsulates why Lovano is now jazz royalty.

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On Bird Songs : For those who wonder, “Do we really need another interpretation of Charlie Parker’s music?” Yes, we do, and Bird Songs is it. Lovano’s big-hearted tenor and vast imagination make this record a must-have for Bird fans, Lovano fans and jazz fans alike. With his terrific group Us Five—which includes Esperanza Spalding on bass, James Weidman on piano and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela—this is the followup to the group’s highly regarded disc Folk Art from 2009. While that recording focused on Lovano originals, what we have on Bird Songs are 11 very personal reinterpretations of Parker tunes. For example, Lovano turns the up-tempo “Donna Lee” into a lush ballad with intricate, understated drum, piano and bass work providing a backdrop for Lovano’s love letters sent through his saxophone. “Moose The Mooche” becomes an a great experiment in messing with time and rhythm. And “Yardbird Suite” serves as another shimmering ballad that slides charmingly into a mid-tempo toe-tapper. Lovano’s saxophone playing is always a joy to hear, but this is a group that is developing into one of the best in the business. You can feel them listening to—and playing off—each other and enjoying the moment. The band will be launching this record with a weeklong engagement at the Village Vanguard Jan. 11–16, and an NPR Live At The Village Vanguard session to be broadcast on WBGO (Newark, N.J.) on Jan. 12. Both are must-witness events for the new year.

In 2007 BBC Radio commissioned saxophonist Dave Liebman to record an all-Coltrane program to mark the 40th anniversary of legendary saxophonist/composer John Coltrane’s passing. Asked to bring in Saxophone Summit—the band Liebman co-led with fellow saxophonists Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane—Liebman managed to assemble regular members Lovano, pianist Phil Markowitz, and drummer Billy Hart, along with bassist Ron McClure as a substitute for the unavailable Cecil McBee. Ten years later, the session is being released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Coltrane’s passing on July 17, 1967.

Billy Hart says that “we’re all just unbelievable Coltrane fans.” If the playing alone wasn’t enough to show that, there’s also the evidence of Liebman’s album Homage To John Coltrane (Owl Records), going back to 1987. This set opens with “Locomotion,” a distinctive take on the blues from Blue Train (Blue Note, 1958). The tune contains the germs of many later Coltrane works, and makes a great launching point, the classic two tenor lineup dueling with each other and egging each other on. A ballad medley showcases the two horns individually—Lovano on tenor for “Central Park West” from Coltrane’s Sound (Atlantic, 1964; but recorded in 1960); Liebman on soprano for “Dear Lord” from Transition (Impulse!, 1970, but recorded in 1965). This spiritual ballad has long had a special place for Liebman, and is the only composition repeated from his early tribute album.

“Ole” from Ole Coltrane (Atlantic, 1961) represents Coltrane’s long term interest in world music, which later came out in tunes like “India” and “Brazilia.” After an introduction featuring wood flute and flute, the Spanish-tinged melody is introduced by tenor and soprano saxophones. “Reverend King” from Cosmic Music (Impulse!, 1968, but recorded in 1966) features Liebman on flute, accompanied by Lovano’s alto clarinet: a lovely combination unique to this track. “Equinox” (also from Coltrane’s Sound) is another blues, returning to the tenor/soprano combination. The album closes with “Compassion” from Meditations (Impulse!, 1966), dipping into Trane’s late period. It gives Hart a solo showcase before launching into the free group improvisation with little steady pulse or set harmonic progressions that typifies late Coltrane. The band is so comfortable with this approach that they play it much like the earlier material: a bit more outside, but there is no sharp dividing line.

John Coltrane’s career was so compressed that the compositions here—recorded between 1958 and 1966—represent six distinct stylistic phases. The more-or-less chronological presentation demonstrates how far he progressed in such a brief period, as well as how he maintained his own voice all the way. Coltrane’s music needs no defense, but these players make an excellent case for it all the same.

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Jazz review: Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano: Compassion: The Music of John Coltrane. This superb musical dialogue is a worthy tribute to the great man of jazz to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

So timeless is the saxophonist John Coltrane’s music that a recording made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death can be belatedly released to mark the 50th. This 2007 studio session, by the reeds players Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, was made in New York for broadcast on Radio 3 in London. It’s a passionate and compelling reminder (if any were needed) of Trane’s endurance in jazz.

The date hits the ground running with Locomotion, from the album Blue Train. Liebman’s and Lovano’s twin tenor saxophones race through the blues-based theme in unison, breaking briefly for solo asides before each man takes a turn in the spotlight. Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums drive both players on wilfully.

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You could fairly call Compassion: The Music of John Coltrane a labor of love. Also obsession, and solidarity, and communal ritual. In any case, it’s the new album by Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, both longtime specialists in the ways of Trane — and colleagues in Saxophone Summit, which originally also featured Michael Brecker, and then Ravi Coltrane.

On Compassion, Lovano and Liebman enlist Phil Markowitz on piano, Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums. The program — recorded in 2007 for the 40th anniversary of Coltrane’s death, and now out on Resonance Records — covers a range from balladic to boppish to ecstatic. “Equinox” inhabits a middle ground, with a percolating intro that opens up to a deeply swinging groove, both saxophonists in excellent form. Saxophone Summit (with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Greg Osby) will perform June 27-July 1 at Birdland Jazz Club.

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Ten years ago, for the 40th anniversary of the inspirational saxophonist John Coltrane’s death, the BBC’s Jazz on 3 commissioned a tribute from sax virtuosi Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, embracing the hard-bop Coltrane of the late 1950s as well as the anthemic free-jazz master he became. Resonance has put those tapes out for this 50th-anniversary year. Liebman had to assemble a hastily modified version of his Saxophone Summit band (Phil Markowitz is on piano, the wonderful Billy Hart on drums), but the collective passion is palpable, as is the jam-session uninhibitedness. Liebman and Lovano rip through Coltrane’s boppish Locomotion as a two-tenor tussle; Lovano’s rugged tenor and Liebman’s ethereal soprano sharply contrast on a segue of Central Park West and the rapturous Dear Lord, Coltrane’s world musicianship is evoked by the Spanish theme of Ole, there’s an Amazing Grace mood to Reverend King, and a prayerlike ecstasy to the freeform title track. The full breadth of the shortlived Coltrane’s legacy is rarely celebrated so authoritatively and completely.

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The Irish Times reviews the newest album in a recent article titled “Dave Liebman/Joe Lovano, Compassion: The Music of John Coltrane, drinking deep from the Coltrane cup”.

“There is no shortage of tributes to John Coltrane but when those paying homage are Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, two of the great saxophonist’s most learned and gifted disciples, it’s clear that there will be more than just music under consideration.

Coltrane’s combination of instrumental virtuosity, tireless creativity and deep spirituality left its mark on the generations that followed him.

The six Coltrane compositions here, including Locomotion, Central Park West and Equinox, are given new life by two great saxophonists, with bravura support from pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, who have been strong enough to drink deep from the Coltrane cup and come out the other side with voices of their own.”

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On Tones, Shapes and Colors : Joe Lovano’s recorded debut as a leader features the tenor in a quartet with pianist Ken Werner, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Mel Lewis. Together, they perform three originals apiece by the leader and Werner. None of the tunes are simple or based on the chords of standards, but although they did not catch on, the interplay by the musicians, the excellent pacing of tempos and moods, and the consistently satisfying solos make this a set worth searching for.