Understanding the concept of The Puzzle,
Lieb’s second “new" group recording is simple: As he states: “Improvising
is a matter of solving a puzzle.” Yes, of course it is. The difficulty lies in
the execution and that’s when the fun begins.
The Puzzle,
EXPANSION'S new recording on the Whaling City Sound label centers on the
construction skills of the group featuring five extraordinary musicians—Lieb on
soprano sax and wooden flute; Matt Vashlishan (reeds); Bobby Avey (keys); Tony
Marino (bass) and Alex Ritz (drums). Each one is a heavy lifter… each one a
puzzlesolver. As the eleven tracks unfold, it’s interesting and revealing to
see how the puzzle analogy works. The musical elements get scattered about at
the onset. Next, the improvisation and extrapolation are addressed as these
pieces begin finding their place in the whole scheme. Eventually, it all comes
together and the assembled puzzle gets an opportunity to shine.
With
Liebman, a master improviser, showing the way, EXPANSIONS directs its energy
towards dissembling and reassembling the vernacular of jazz. At the core, this
group is an adventurous ensemble, eager to invent and constantly in search of
new terrain to explore. Its debut album skirted the outer edges of new jazz
interpolation and concepts with a profoundly intellectual approach to
composition and improvisation. The Puzzle finds the band getting even deeper
into the headier aspects of the process, daring each other to find fresh ways
of considering the music at hand.
Songs like
“The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave” embrace that challenge. “The Thing” according
to composer/bassist and long time Liebman associate Tony Marino, addresses the
whole ever present matter of dissonance versus consonance. The opening track,
“Hat Trick,” penned by reed man Matt Vashlishan, is at first a playful romp
with a handful of highly rhythmic and intervallic based motifs all coming from
seemingly various directions, with the bass, piano, and sax all finally meeting
up in the end. Album closer “Danse De La Fureur” is a Liebman-adapted track
excerpted from an Olivier Messiaen composition written while this 20th century
master master was a prisoner in a World War II prison camp. It is bruising and
maniacal, dark and disturbing, uniquely Expansions-esque.
And so goes the entire recording. For those listeners
who like jazz to tickle their cerebral cortex, that like a good challenge when
they choose what music to listen to, Liebman has always been an excellent
choice. Match Lieb’s vast skills and energetic spirit with the accompaniment
and contributions of the group members and you get The Puzzle, an intensely
satisfying recording with all the right pieces coming together… a completed
puzzle sure to please fans of contemporary and serious jazz
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