Since he began to seriously pursue a career as a jazz artist back in the 1960s, Dave Liebman has been on a transformative journey towards becoming a true original in the genre. After assuming sideman slots with the likes of Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, and Chick Corea, to name but a few, he has certainly earned his stripes. Those who’ve followed him more closely understand that he has become a deep and soulful storyteller in jazz in a way few others have.
So what would you say to a trailblazer like Liebman when you discover he’s taken a batch of beloved pop songs-sweet, memorable, hummable “chestnuts” in the popular lexicon-and completely deconstructed it?
Liebman has, over the years, proved to be a risk-taker, a challenger, someone who purposely defies convention in a way that every iconoclast, especially musical ones, dare to every chance they get. After such an illustrious career, it’s evident that Liebman has earned the right to cherry pick his projects and challenges. Lineage, his project with drummer Michael Stephans, is just that kind of project.
Billed as “rock and pop classics revisited,” Lineage is actually a project long in coming. Liebman and Stephans talked about the idea a few years ago and started compiling a wish list of possible songs. Given the trajectory and complexity of Lieb’s career, they never got the chance to pull it off. Still, like all interesting ideas, it hung around and never really faded out of view.
In 2010, the idea resurfaced. Lieb, with Stephans, guitarist Vic Juris, Bobby Avey on keys, Evan Gregor on bass, and woodwinds guru Matt Vashlishan began working on them the way a baker kneads hunks of dough. The list of potential covers, begun years back by Lieb included several of their favorite songs from the 50s and 60s by artists like Elvis, the Ventures, and, of course, the Beatles. Song titles emerged: “Love Me Tender,” “Wipeout,” “Woodstock,” and “Walk, Don’t Run,” among others.
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