Critics’ Picks – Top 5 Recording of the year. — JazzTimes, Chuck Berg & Bret Primack
Arkadia Records recording artist, jazz soprano sax virtuoso Dave Liebman, together with his group and the great Brazilian percussionist Café, breaks new ground in this inspired album, entitled David Liebman: New Vista. Mixing Brazilian rhythms with penetrating ballads such as Estate, Beauty and the Beast and Zingaro (Portrait in Black and White), this recording is, in the innovative Liebman’s words, his “most upbeat release to date.”
“His effervescent New Vista…reflecting the music of Brazil, Liebman sounds unusually comfortable and relaxed, as his fluid, cleanly articulated soprano lines dart, weave and flutter through the shifting grooves…. Liebman displays a marvelous lyrical facility, bringing a beautiful, somewhat breathy tone to the seductive rhythms and intoxicating melodies. He adds tremendous warmth and feeling to these tunes…It’s hard to recall a Liebman project as buoyant and immediately appealing as New Vista.” — Downbeat, Jon Andrews
“David Liebman’s New Vista is an extraordinary adventure. That, though, is what we have come to expect from Liebman, one of contemporary music’s true innovators. Although having just passed the half century mark, Lieb is playing with an intensity pulsing with youthful energies.
At the same time, his playing possesses a Solomon-like wisdom. On one level, there’s a brilliant reconfiguring of the past, of Dave’s own considerable legacy, as well as those of Miles (Davis) and Trane (John Coltrane). And yet the music springs from the immediacy of the moment. So while imbued with the spirits of the giants, Dave’s impassioned quests once again push past the present and into the future.
In the aptly titled New Vista, arguably Dave’s most assessable project to date, the inspiration comes in large part from Brazil. This, though, is not the Bossa Nova of your father – or mother. Indeed, it’s an electro-Amazonian voyage into an exotic and rhythmically charged neo-musical hyperspace, a magical realm in which myth and dream dance with joyous abandon.”
…I have no doubt that New Vista will stand as a landmark in Liebman’s already distinguished career. Its appeals are many. Its impact is immediate. Indeed, it’s serious and joyous fun at the summit by one of our great contemporary artists, saxophone extrodinaire, Dave Liebman. — Dr. Chuck Berg
“Liebman has evolved a persuasively personal voice and a spare approach that not only focuses on the choice notes
but the choice timbre to set them off. – Gary Giddins, The Village Voice
Most well known as a key member of the seminal Miles Davis Quintet in the 1970’s, Dave Liebman, along with notable musicians Phil Markowitz, Tony Marino, Jamey Haddad, Vic Juris, and Brazilian percussion master Café, creates this thrilling CD, David Liebman: New Vista (also available via download), that fuses Jazz with Brazilian influences; culminating in an exhilarating recording of Dave Liebman’s individual musical vision.
| SONG SELECTIONS:
1.New Vista |
David Liebman – tenor saxophone Vic Juris – guitar Phil Markowitz – keyboards Tony Marino – bass Jamey Haddad – drums Café – percussion Produced by Bob Karcy |
WHAT THE MEDIA HAS SAID ABOUT NEW VISTA
“…a fusion of soundscapes with a decidedly Brazilian flair. This music flows in a torrent of percussive wizardry and melodic lines that at times seem to defy the laws of gravity. New Vista stretches the Brazilian boundaries in unexpected and delightful ways…a rewarding album with that touch of magic that every good Brazilian recording strives to offer. — Scott Adams, The Brazilian Review
“(New Vista) generates a gust of fresh air. Liebman is a player of genuine virtuosity and his command over both his instrument and any context in which it might appear make this album appealing. The music announces its distinction early on through the title track, a Liebman composition that darts through samba rhythms on the wings of a boppish melody. Liebman has…with vast talent and good taste, succeeded in creating music sometimes strong enough to blow back your hair…out of elements that seldom carry such force.” — William Stephenson, Jazziz
“Saxophonist Liebman’s played so well for so long in such varied settings that he may currently be taken for granted. This recording is…full of subtlety and lyricism…on which he contributes fluid, attractive solos.” –– Harvey Pekar, JazzTimes
“Former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman is one of jazz’s most imaginative sax players.” — Gavin Magazine
“New Vista is an astute and penetrating blend of free-bop and Brazilian sounds that will go over equally well with the jazz hard core and those who don’t like to find themselves asking, “Where’s the melody?” after they’ve bought an album.” –– James Isaacs, Boston Sidewalk Choice
EDITOR’S CHOICE – Rick Marx, jazzcentralstation
“New Vista…is masterful in that Liebman is charged, negotiating his horn splendidly, tunefully and lovingly testing its boundaries. To be sure, the saxophonist/leader shines consistently… proving his stature as one of the outstanding saxmen of our day.” — Steven A. Loewy, Cadence
“David Liebman knows only one way to play: with passion and total commitment. New Vista shows that music needn’t be simple or calculated to be accessible. The themes included on this recording are as breezy and hummable as anything on the so-called ‘smooth jazz’ radio airwaves, yet Liebman’s commitment is always evident.” –– James Hale, Planet Jazz CD Review
