Dave Liebman - Lookout Farm (1974) [re-rip]

Lookout Farm is a sublime jazz-fusion album and is indicative of a typical ECM release. Side A kicks off with Pablo’s Story - a Latin influenced track that begins with classical guitar, then flute and electric guitar together with cowbells. It’s poised and beautiful and then it becomes an up-tempo workout with saxophones and congas taking it on a wild ride. Sam’s Float initially sounds mysterious, with a bass line leading into flute trills whilst a female voice wails - it’s like a brief adventure into the ether. Side B is one twenty-four minute track called M.D/Lookout Farm. It begins with acoustic piano followed by plaintive tenor saxophone and as the track develops it is atmospheric and sometimes quite abstract. There’s everything happening in this track – you can call it a jam, but it is coherent and tightly played. Towards the end there is a great percussive section with tablas and congas before a saxophone led freak-out warps time over never-ending elastic minutes. This music is a good example of what was happening in the early 1970s.

Dave Liebman played in Elvin Jones’ band after John Coltrane died in 1967 and then was hired by Mile Davis, playing with the master between 1970-74, the period in which this great record was recorded. Lookout Farm displays similar qualities to Miles Davis’ work during that period, being both adventurous and avant-garde, but also very listenable. The sessions took place in October 1973 and features Liebman on flute and soprano and tenor saxes. The other principle musicians are Richard Beirach, Frank Tusa and Jeff Williams. ~ Jeremy, Closed Groove

ECM Records, ECM 1039 ST, 1974

Recorded 10^th & 11^th October, 1973 at Generation Sound Studios, New York

Personnel:

Dave Liebman - Soprano, Tenor Saxes, Alto C-Flute

Richard Beirach - Electric, Acoustic Piano

Frank Tusa - Electric, Acoustic Bass

Jeff Williams - Drums

Thanks to:

John Abercrombie - Acoustic, Electric Guitar

Armen Halburian - Percussion

Don Alias - Congas, Bongos

Badal Roy - Tablas

Steve Sattan - Tambourine, Cowbell

Eleana Sternberg - Vocals

Track Listing:

A1. Pablo's Story {Liebman} (14:00)

A2. Sam's Float {Liebman} (8:38)

B. M. D. / Lookout Farm {Liebman} (23:46)

Credits:

Producer - Manfred Eicher

Recording Engineer - Tony May

Mixing Engineer - Martin Wieland

A great example of the sound of ECM in the early 70s, with Liebman playing in his post-Miles band angular modernist style with warm electric and acoustic accompaniment from Richard Beirach, Frank Tusa and Jeff Williams rounding out the quartet. The set is made up of three long, spiralling numbers, with the players intersecting and weaving together their lines, blurring the difference between solos, group improvisation and head melodies, and there's a large host of guest players, including John Abercrombie, Don Alias and Badal Roy. Titles include "Pablo's Story", "Sam's Float" and "MD/Lookout Farm". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Dom Um Romão - Spirit Of The Times (1975) [vinyl>re-rip,true flac]

For Spirit of the Times Romao contributes two more stunning percussion monologues, “Ginga Gingou” and “Cosinha.” As he states in Robert Palmer's expertly-penned liners, the street music of Brazil as practiced by the samba schools (not schools per se, but groups of percussionists) is really reflective of the African influence on the blacks of Brazil. Short of making your own field recordings during carnival time in Rio, Romao's recreations celebrate a festive spirit that's the next best thing. There's a more organic feel throughout to these selections too, although electronic elements, such as Joe Beck's wah-wah guitar, fit tastefully into the mix. Acting as a worthy microcosm of Brazilian fusion from the '70s, these recordings should serve the uninitiated well in that they're meaty but undeniably tuneful and enticing. Following on the heels of a recent renaissance in Brazilian music, particularly overseas and in Japan, Romao's Muse recordings have aged well and will be sure to please those individuals with a taste for the exotic and an open mind. ~ Chris Hovan, http://www.allaboutjazz.com.

Wicked Brazil album with the fusion tracks 'Wait On The Corner', 'The Angels' & 'Kitchen'. ~ http://www.rushhour.nl

An incredible set of Brazilian jazz - one of the few albums that percussionist Dom Um Romao recorded as a leader, and sublime all the way through! The record's got a wonderful blend of funky fusion and Brazilian percussion - and features a group from two continents that includes Sivuca on organ, Dom Salvador on electric piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Jerry Dodgion on alto sax, Lloyd McNeill on flute, and Mauricio Smith on tenor, soprano, and flute. Includes the percussion jammer "Shake (Ginga Gingou)", the modal groover "Wait on the Corner", and the lively scatting tune "The Angels" – but the whole album's great, and other tracks include "The Salvation Army", "Kitchen", and "Lamento Negro". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Muse Records, MR 5049, 1975

Recorded 6^th June & 21^st November, 1973

Musicians:

Dom Um Romão - Drums, Percussion

Dom Salvador - Piano, Electric Piano

Joe Beck - Electric Guitar

Lloyd McNeill - Flute

Sivuca - Organ, Piano, Guitar

Amauri Tristao - Acoustic Guitar

Jerry Dodgion - Alto Saxophone, Flute

Mauricio Smith - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Flute

Frank Tusa - Bass

Portinho - Percussion

Track Listing:

A1. Shakin' [Ginga Gingou] {Dom Um Romão} (3:01)

A2. Wait On The Corner {Humberto Teixeira, Sivuca} (6:18)

A3. Lamento Negro {Dom Um Romão} (3:59)

B1. Highway {Amauri Tristao} (4:25)

B2. The Angels {Dom Salvador} (4:03)

B3. The Salvation Army {Dom Salvador} (4:05)

B4. Kitchen [Cosinha] {Dom Um Romão} (2:48)

Credits:

Producer - Dom Um Romão, Joe Fields

Recording Engineer - Michael Delugg

Album Design - Ron Warwell

Liner Notes - Bob Palmer

Dom Um Romão - Dom Um Romão (1973) [vinyl>re-rip,true flac]

An unbelievably fantastic album, and perhaps the greatest one that Dom Um Romão ever did. Dom recorded this one in America with a blend of Brazilian and New York musicians - creating an incredible sound that's unlike anything else one can think of. Includes the spare spacey groover "Dom's Tune", the lively dancer "Cinnamon Flower", the jazzy "Family Talk", a great version of "Ponteio", and a take on Sivuca's "Adeus Maria Fulô" with João Donato on electric harpsichord. ~ @ Dusty Groove Inc..

This LP was probably one of my first introductions to Brazilian music when I bought it in the early 80s after hearing Braun Blek Blu - it completely blew me away. I couldn't believe this could be the work of just one man, his drum kit, a cow bell and vocals!!! And what an LP to get-a storming version of Ponteio and each track a killer in its own right. But of course - it also features the great João Donato! Orgyinrhythm

Muse Records, MR 5013, 1974

Recorded 6^th June & 21^st November, 1973

Musicians:

Dom Um Romão - Drums, Percussion

Dom Salvador - Electric Piano, Piano

Lloyd McNeil - Flute

Joe Beck - Electric Guitar

João Donato - Harpsichord, Piano

Sivuca - Organ, Piano, Guitar

Amauri Tristao - Acoustic Guitar

Jerry Dodgion - Alto Saxophone, Flute

Mauricio Smith - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Flute

Richard Kimball - Synthesizer

Jimmy Bossey - Trombone

William Campbell, Jr. - Trumpet

Frank Tusa - Bass

Stanley Clarke - Bass

Eric Gravatt - Congas

Portintio - Percussion

Track Listing:

A1. Dom's Tune {Dom Um Romão} (8:43)

A2. Cinnamon Flower [Cravo E Canela] {Milton Nascimento} (4:53)

A3. Family Talk {Dom Um Romão} (5:42)

B1. Ponteio {Edu Lobo, Ruy Guerra} (6:07)

B2. Braun-Blek-Blu {Dom Um Romão} (4:40)

B3. Adeus Maria Fulô {Sivuca, Humberto Teixeira} (8:03)

Credits:

Producer - Dom Um Romão, Joe Fields

Recording Engineer - Michael DeLugg

Liner Notes - Gary Giddins

David Liebman - Sweet Hands (1975) [vinyl>flac]

Fascinatingly eclectic, Sweet Hands finds Dave Liebman’s band Lookout Farm exploring different styles such as funk, free jazz, Indian music, song forms, and even a surprisingly successful reharmonization of George Harrison’s Within You Without You from The Beatles’ 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Listening to Sweet Hands makes you nostalgic for a time when music executives had enough respect for the public that they supported the creation of music that didn’t have an instantly exploitable marketing hook.

Probably the standout is the opening track, Dr. Faustus. The inspiration for the tune, originally titled “Anxiety,” was an episode between Dave Liebman and his record label at the time. It opens with a free chromatic melody, tweaked for maximum dissonance, leading into a jazz rock vamp over which Liebman wails, egged on by Richie Beirach’s itchy clavinet. The pounding bass line that underlies the tune is meant to suggest, according to the liner notes, “New York City where so many high pressured situations are dealt with constantly.”

The next tune, Dark Lady, is by Richie Beirach. The tone of the piece is fittingly ruminative, being a portrait of one of Richie’s female acquaintances. An A section is played by Richie alone, followed by a B section of simpler harmonic material, which is used as material for Liebman’s improvisation. A C section follows, a canon based on material from the B section. Finally the A section is reprised, ending the track.

The next piece is an (unintentionally) humorous tune that combines an Indian rhythm supplied by Badal Roy with funk, courtesy of the bass and a rhythmic figure by Liebman’s overdubbed saxophones. It is not entirely successful, but it is hard not to applaud the group’s spirit of adventure, and at a brisk 4:11, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Within You Without You, retitled Ashirbad, is treated to Badal Roy’s percussion before Liebman starts in with the theme, which Beirach reharmonizes on electric piano, under which the bass plays an E pedal point, with occasional countermelodies. Given that Liebman is particularly fond of Harrison’s lyrics, which he finds profound, one is grateful that Liebman’s musical taste far exceeds his literary judgement.

Napanoch starts with a completely improvised duet between Liebman on tenor and Beirach on electric piano which segues into a section with a straight ahead jazz feel based on the F# Locrian mode, over which Liebman solos freely, accompanied by Beirach, who spontaneously reharmonizes to support Liebman’s melodic variations. While Liebman and Beirach continue to burn, swingtime is suspended and the rhythm becomes free, drawing the tune to a close.

To summarize, Sweet Hands is quite an adventurous and almost entirely successful date from David Liebman and his band Lookout Farm. Now, the bad news, Sweet Hands is only available on LP. ~ Jazzbo

Horizon Records, SP-702, 1975

Recorded 25th, 27th, 29th & 30th July, 1975 at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California

Personnel:

David Liebman - Tenor Sax (#A1,A3,B3), Soprano Sax (#A1,A2,B2,B4), Alto Flute (#A2,A3,B1,B2), Wind Chimes (#B2)

Richard Beirach - Piano (#A2), Electric Piano (#A1,B2,B3), Clavinet (#A1,A3), Bell Tree (#A2), Wind Chimes (#B2)

John Abercrombie - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar (#A1-A3,B4)

Charlie Haden - Acoustic Bass (#A3,B1,B2)

Frank Tusa - Electric Bass (#A1,A3), Acoustic Bass (#A2,B1,B2,B3)

Jeff Williams - Drums (#A1-A3,B3,B4)

Don Alias - Congas, Bells, Tambourine, Shaker, Cymbal [Finger] (#A1-B4)

Badal Roy - Tabla, Ektare, Vocals (#A3,B1,B2)

Arooj Lazewal - Sitar (#B1,B2)

Gita Roy - Tambura (#B1,B2)

Track Listing:

A1. Dr. Faustus {David Liebman} (10:49)

A2. Dark Lady {Richie Beirach} (7:52)

A3. Sweet Hand Roy {Badal Roy, David Liebman} (4:09)

B1-B2. Ashirbad {Badal Roy}/Within You Without You {George Harrison} (12:13)

B3. Napanoch {David Liebman} (5:27)

B4. Leane {David Liebman} (4:12)

Credits:

Producer - Ed Michel

Recorded By, Mixed By - Baker Bigsby

Engineer [Assistant] - Larry Quinn, Peter Chaiken

Mixed By - David Liebman, Ed Michel, Richard Beirach

Creative Director - John Snyder

Art Direction - Roland Young

Design - Phil Shima

Cover [Front Cover] - Kenneth McGowan

Liner Notes - Badal Roy, David Liebman