Steve Lehman’s Otherworldly Octet Music Stands on Bop Tradition

06/28/14
Brad Farberman
Even the most singular art has precedents and inspirations. Case in point: the Steve Lehman Octet, which releases its sophomore album, Mise en Abîme, on June 24. Distinguished by abrasive horns, crooked drum grooves, spooky vibraphone and the leader’s sweet but unsettled alto saxophone, the eight-piece—trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, trombonist Tim Albright, tuba player Jose Davila, tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, vibraphonist Chris Dingman, bassist Drew Gress, drummer Tyshawn Sorey and Lehman on alto and live electronics—makes fuzzy, funky music that seems to have dropped from outer space.

But three of the tunes on Abîme (Pi) are indebted to pianist Bud Powell, “Beyond All Limits” is partially inspired by the Woody Shaw song of the same name, yet another piece is dedicated to the African drummer Brice Wassy, and fastened to Lehman’s original composition “Chimera” is an arrangement of “Luchini,” by New York hip-hop group Camp Lo.

Based in Hoboken, N.J., Lehman, who has worked as a sideman with Anthony Braxton and is one-third of the collective Fieldwork with pianist Vijay Iyer and Sorey, decided to assemble the octet after the release of his last quintet LP, 2007’s On Meaning. Augmenting the existing group with tuba, trombone and tenor sax, the leader conjured up something like a little-big band. But where a big band would have guitar and piano, or most small groups would have one or the other, Lehman places the ominous, ethereal vibraphone of Dingman.

Though he only realized it after the fact, the leader borrowed this idea from one of his foremost influences. “I don’t even think about it, but when I do think about it, it’s very clear to me that that’s just something I just took for granted from all the Jackie McLean records where he has [vibraphonist] Bobby Hutcherson,” explains Lehman, 35, at his in-laws’ home in Hoboken. “And he’s actually the first one to really do that. He and [multireedist Eric] Dolphy used Bobby as the main chordal instrument.”
read more: http://jazztimes.com/articles/132169-steve-lehman-s-otherworldly-octet-music-stands-on-bop-tradition

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Steve Lehman - Dual Identity (Clean Feed, 2010) ****

A double alto sax front line is quite exceptional, and even more so when both musicians are known for their compositional intricacy and technical mastership ... and find each other organically despite their quite different angle of approach to music.The two altos are Rudresh Mahanthappa, whose Indian background is omnipresent in his compositions and improvisations, and Steve Lehman, whose skills can be an asset, but are sometimes also a burden, and quite well illustrated by his two latest albums.

This is not Lehman's first exposure to more Indian influence, actually, his work with pianist Vijay Iyer in Fieldwork, quite well mirrored the many albums that Mahanthappa and Iyer released together. Now both saxes have found each other in the great company of three musicians of equal skills : Liberty Ellman on guitar, Matt Brewer on bass, and Damion Reid on drums.

The composition of the pieces is almost evenly divided among the two saxophonists, with one by Ellman, and it's interesting to hear how they move towards each other, despite the easy recognition of the Mahanthappa tracks. In any case, the tunes are lively, complex but not too much, keeping their human directness and warmth, with great soloing from all musicians. Although I wish they could have been more explosive and daring at times, the delivery is full of soul and emotional depth.

The album is was recorded live at the Braga Jazz Festival, Portugal in 2009. The live audience gives the music even more depth, although for some tracks the applause is mixed out (why? why? have you ever heard a mute audience?). And these five guys have skills you can only dream of. Brewer and Reid are possibly the less known members of the band, but what a rhythm section! Recommended.
http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.com/2010/05/rudresh-mahanthappa-steve-lehman-dual.html