Musicians: Dave Liebman - Leader, Soprano Sax Arnon Palty - Arranger, Guest Electric Bass Gunnar Mossblad - Conducting & Directing, Alto & Soprano Sax , Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet Charles Pillow - Alto Sax, Flute, Oboe Dave Riekenberg - Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet Tim Ries - Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet Jay Brandford - Baritone Sax, Bass Clarinet Danny Cahn - Trumpet Bob Millikan - Trumpet Dave Ballou - Trumpet Patrick Dorian - Trumpet Tim Sessions - Trombone Scott Reeves - Trombone Sam Burtis - Trombone Jeff Nelson - Bass Trombone Jim Ridl - Piano, Synthesizer Vic Juris - Guitar Tony Marino - Double Bass Marko Marcinko - Drums and Percussion Liner Notes: Dave Liebman has been one of the most respected jazz musicians for over 40 years. His early albums with Elvin Jones and Miles Davis in the 70’s set the standard for what modern jazz was to become: intense harmonic, melodic and rhythmic explorations challenging the mind and sweeping with emotion. In his own groups, “Lookout Farm”, “Quest” and various duos, trios and quartets, Liebman explored novel compositional vehicles and near-telepathic group interaction. Always looking for new sonic avenues to explore, Liebman formed his all-star ‘Dave Liebman Big Band’ (DLBB) in 2002 , under the direction of the brilliant saxophonist and composer Gunnar Mossblad. Over the past decade, the DLBB has performed and recorded mostly arrangements of Liebman’s own compositions in this classic jazz genre. It was his openness to new and challenging big band interpretations of his compositions that brought about his encounter with Arnon Palty’s awesome arranging skills, which led to this wonderful album. Dr. Arnon R. Palty is an award winning composer, arranger, bass player and renowned educator from Haifa, Israel. His distinctive electric bass sound and upright jazz bass playing has been featured on hundreds of stage and recording productions in Israel and the USA, including live performances with Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Benny Golson, Didier Lockwood, Airto Moreira, Zakir Hussain, and others. Arnon also leads his own Big Band and a 10-piece Funk/Fusion group called "Plutonium", and has recorded several projects with them. As an educator, Arnon’s sharp ear and keen intellect have made him the Harmony, Theory, Arranging and Ear-Training Professor of choice at the Jerusalem Academy of Music as well as Rimon school of Music, Tel Aviv University, and the Hed music school at the Ono Academic College. His acclaimed Ph.D. thesis, “Connecting Points in Jazz Dialects - The Harmonic Metamorphosis” is scheduled to be published soon by Academic Press. In September 2011, Dave Liebman celebrated his Birthday with a weeklong engagement of the Big Band at the “Birdland” jazz club in New York, and it was there that the band first performed Arnon’s arrangements of two of Liebman's compositions: "Standoff" and “Tomorrow’s Expectations”. In 2012, Arnon was finally able to secure a generous grant from "EOJM" (European Foundation for Outstanding Jazz Musicians) to arrange, record and produce the DLBB performing the eight fine tunes that make up this extraordinary album. The album opens with "Well, Baby, Too Close to the Savoy”, a wittily titled original by Arnon Palty, conceptually combining two well-known Jazz standards: "Too Close for Comfort", "Stompin’' at the Savoy", along with citations from Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” and from the famous 1926 song "Baby Face". It’s Arnon’s tribute to the old ballroom spirit and energy of the swing era bands, and it even includes a short homage to the Grammy award-winning chart of "Sing, Sing, Sing" that Jim McNeely wrote for the DLBB. Fantastic solo by Dave Liebman on soprano saxophone, followed by beautiful solos by Vic Juris on guitar, Gunnar Mossblad on alto saxophone, and Dave Riekenberg on tenor saxophone. “Tomorrow's Expectations,” a Liebman original ballad, that begins with an improvised introduction by Jim Ridl (playing piano and synthesizer simultaneously) which features the tune's motifs. Arnon says of this tune: "Dave’s tune is festive and energetic, deep and hopeful-and a great title for the album". “G.I.G” is a swinging “soft-shoeish” original by Liebman. The title stands for George and Ira Gershwin, and Arnon’s chart is in the tradition of Bill Holman. It opens with multiple intertwined melodic lines in sophisticated counterpoint. The soloists are Liebman on soprano, and Jim Ridl on piano. Liebman’s tune “Loudly (as in an Evening Moonset)”, based on the standard "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise". Arnon’s arrangement sets the stage with a surprising classical Baroque-style brass chorale introduction, which quickly gives way to the main melody. McCoy Tyner's first chorus from his solo on "Softly" on Coltrane's “Live at the Village Vanguard” is arranged for the woodwind section as a "soli" fashion (right hand), while McCoy’s left hand comping is played by the brass. Liebman solos first on soprano saxophone with his unmistakable sound and virtuosity. We also hear beautiful solos by Dave Riekenberg on tenor saxophone ,Tim Sessions on trombone, and Tim Ries on tenor. The soloing is sealed by Arnon's energetic bass solo bursting in, full of melodic and rhythmic twists, before blending right back into the signature sound of the DLBB to take the tune out. Dave Liebman's composition “Standoff” is meant to describe the situation in the Middle East. As Arnon writes, “It has a haunting melody and harmony which leave the listener in wonder and deep thoughts.” It was written originally as a three-voice chorale, orchestrated here by Arnon for Liebman’s soprano, Jay Brandford’s bass clarinet, and bowed string bass by Tony Marino. (Standoff I). After this, we are treated to a full big band arrangement of the composition (Standoff II), leading to Liebman's soprano saxophone solo. Arnon’s original, “Under the Circus Tents (Human Laughter)" is dedicated to cosmic humor in general and to human laughter particularly. You might be able to detect the human laughter in the melody. Featuring a punchy, Thad Jones-ish approach, written especially for the DLBB, it offers an opportunity for the soloists to jam on the chords of “I Got Rhythm” (or as called by Jazz musicians "Rhythm Changes"), and also features a free, classical-sounding interlude. Great solos by the fabulous drummer Marko Marcinko, featuring a traditional Gene Krupa -like drum introduction, Dave Ballou - trumpet, Sam Burtis - trombone, Charles Pillow - alto saxophone, Vic Juris - guitar and Tony Marino - upright bass. Please pay special attention to Vic’s short solo. It’s a great example of the almost lost art of creating a rich and memorable solo in a single chorus—swinging, funky, and bluesy all at once, followed by an impressive, lyrical and inventive string bass solo by Tony Marino. Arnon’s “Moroccan Medley” begins with Liebman on wooden flute, Marko Marcinko on drums and hand percussion and Arnon on synthesizer . Arnon explains: “This piece starts with an atmospheric ambiance, leading to a historic perspective on Salsa, merging the roots of Arabic/ North African/ Spanish/ Caribbean and Lower South American music.” It actually uses the melodies of three well-known and festive Moroccan songs (Layla Ajid Aktar, Hbibi D'Yalin, and Dorbiya Ya Sibani). The medley is a happy, positive counterpart to “Standoff” due to its hopefulness and peacefulness, and has recently played live numerous times at the Israeli annual "Music Festival" series. The combination of Liebman’s unique voice on the soprano sax with Arnon’s inspiring arrangements, which showcase the top-notch musicianship of the DLBB players, will surely make this album a classic. - Liner Notes: Dan Adler, New York, Jazz Musician and Writer