I was present at Smalls Jazz Club on the January evening that this set was recorded. I recall a kind of electricity and excitement in the room. Personally, the moment felt especially heavy. The pandemic was not an easy time for anyone - but it was particularly hard on my dad due, in part, to ongoing mobility issues that seriously affected his ability to get around. He needed a hip replacement, and after much delay related to the lockdown, we were all so grateful that he was finally able to get one in late November 2021. It was a tough period, but dad made an impressive recovery. Six weeks later, he was back on stage. When he put the horn in his mouth, it was like the stress of the past 20 months never happened. He sounded better than ever! For 75 minutes, he and his incredible band (Peter Evans, Leo Genovese, John Hébert and Tyshawn Sorey) played an emotive, wide-ranging free jazz set straight through. The room listened with rapt attention.
There is something inherently liberating about free improvisation. There are no rules. You don’t have to take care of chord changes or follow any distinct roadmap. It is limitless, and the results are wholly dependent on the musicians involved and the unique color (and skill sets) they each bring. There is less emphasis on harmony and rhythm with the focus instead on building sonic textures, creating a mood. As my dad puts it, in the end it’s all about trust between the musicians on stage. This particular band was assembled for the gig - they had never played before in this context, and most of the players were considered “new” to him, in that he didn’t know their playing intimately. While the prospect of a “return gig” with open concept and new musicians might terrify some, to my dad it was just the opposite - an exciting opportunity to explore fresh ideas, and take the kind of musical risks one can only do with highly skilled musicians like Peter, Leo, John and Tyshawn.
It all feels very full circle. My dad has played free regularly throughout his extremely prolific career, though some periods focused on it more than others. The most blatant example would be the loft scene - that golden period in the late ‘60s and ‘70s that has since taken on a bit of a mythical sheen and is usually among the top three things musicians tend to talk to me about when they first meet me and make the Liebman connection (Live at the Lighthouse and Miles being the others). From 1968-69, my dad had his loft with Dave Holland and Chick Corea. It was during this formative period that they almost exclusively played open. They would burn out for four, five hours at a time, and nobody was calling keys or counting off tempos - everything was freewheeling. These explorations would become the bedrock of my father’s musical journey.
Since then, he’s returned to free playing several times on record, notably with his ‘Elements’ series and others, and regularly in concert with different configurations over the years. As of late, and especially over the past year, it’s become his default format. I asked my father what prompted his return to form, of which Live at Smalls acts as a launch pad of sorts for this new phase. His response? A comparison to the career of his prime inspiration, John Coltrane. Trane’s “late stage”, which lasted two years before his untimely passing, was fully focused on pushing into the great beyond, completely free. While dad doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon, he is feeling more drawn than ever to the boundlessness free jazz affords him, and is making that the focus of his next creative chapter.
With that in mind, it is apropos that he would propel this new phase at Smalls. with this type of gig, and especially as a part of the SmallsLIVE Living Masters series - the brilliant program started by Spike Wilner to honor living jazz greats among us. Charged by 60+ years of creative experience, Dave Liebman has returned to his roots.
I’m so proud of my dad, and I am constantly in awe of his resilience, and creative spirit. This recording captures it oh so well, and I hope you will enjoy the ride.
Lydia Liebman
December 2022 New York, NY
