Steve Smith, Dave
Liebman, Aydin Esen and Anthony Jackson,
"Flashpoint": Liner Notes
"Flashpoint"
featuring Steve Smith, Dave Liebman, Aydin Esen
and Anthony Jackson
Steve Smith -
drums, ghatam and udu
Dave
Liebman - soprano and tenor saxophones,
bamboo Indian flute
Aydin Esen - keyboards
Anthony Jackson - contrabass guitar
Recorded May 9-15 at Red Rock Recording
Pocono, PA
This all-star
project brings together four potent and highly
respected players whose paths have crossed
before in various configurations over the years.
As a unit, they authoritatively straddle the
worlds of freewheeling jazz improvisation and
kinetic, rock-fueled intensity on Flashpoint,
which takes no prisoners and makes no apologies
for its full-out fuzoid tendencies. Bristling
with the kind of heightened energy, formidable
chops and intelligence that recalls classic
fusion bands of the ‘70s, Flashpoint is a savvy
blending of acoustic and electric instruments
into a provocative and hard-hitting hybrid.
While drummer Steve Smith has frequently
found himself in such high-octane settings
before as the leader of Vital Information and
through several slamming side projects he’s done
for Tone Center, Flashpoint is a definite
departure for respected jazz veteran Dave
Liebman. A one-time sideman to Elvin Jones
(1971-1973) and Miles Davis (1973-1974), Liebman
has led his own groups for the past 30 years and
is also currently a member of the acclaimed
Saxophone Summit (with Michael Brecker and Joe
Lovano). While his overall discography numbers
into the 200-plus range, only a handful of
recordings have captured the saxophonist
operating on this level of electrified
intensity. As Smith says, "This recording
presents Lieb in a different light. It’s
current, it’s vibrant and I think it may
surprise some people who have never heard him
play in this electric high-energy setting
before."
Rounding out the lineup are
renowned session bassist Anthony Jackson, whose
credits number well over 400 and include
recordings with Chick Corea, Michel Petrucciani,
Steve Khan, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and The
O’Jays (that’s his flanged bassline on their
million-selling single "For The Love Of Money")
and the brilliant Turkish keyboardist Aydin Esen,
who along with Liebman is one of the principal
composers for Flashpoint. Says Liebman, who
engages in more animated dialogue here on Esen,
"Aydin’s got such a command of synthesizers and
he’s a great jazz player too. He’s equally adept
at the electric thing or going in a more
straight ahead acoustic direction. He’s a
special dude." Adds Smith, "Aydin is a very
original and harmonically sophisticated player,
and he has a very unique way of playing synth
and piano simultaneously. He rarely overdubs, so
when you hear a synth solo, he’s also comping in
real time on the piano, and vice versa."
While these four musicians had never previously
played together as a unit prior to this
recording, there have been some circuitous
connections among them over time. Both Liebman
and Jackson appeared on Esen’s auspicious 1992
debut on Columbia Records, Anadolu. Jackson and
Smith toured Turkey in Aydin Esen’s trio in 1996
and subsequently played together on Buddy’s
Buddies, a Buddy Rich tribute recording which
Smith had produced for Tone Center in 1999.
Liebman explains that the idea for
Flashpoint actually came from hearing Esen’s
1999 recording Timescape, which featured Smith
on drums and his Vital Information bandmate
Baron Browne on bass. "I really loved that
recording and thought, 'This is exactly what I’d
like to do at some point," says the
Brooklyn-born saxophonist-composer-bandleader
and educator. "I mentioned this to Steve and he
hooked up the recording with Tone Center."
They come out of the gate charging hard on
the album’s kinetic opener, Liebman’s
"Flashpoint," setting a visceral tone for the
entire album. Liebman wails with abandon on
soprano sax over Smith’s slamming backbeats and
Jackson’s bubbling low-end groove as Esen
alternately comps jagged chords on piano while
layering on soaring synth lines over the top. On
Liebman’s "Like John" (his answer to Coltrane’s
"Like Sonny"), he switches to tenor sax and
blows bold, robust lines over the majestic
theme, which Dave wrote on Trane’s birthday
(September 23) in 1996.
Esen’s evocative
"Particles" is a cleansing breath featuring some
soothing soprano sax work from Liebman and
gentle piano by Aydin. Jackson’s fat-toned,
contrapuntal basslines flow against the shifting
current on Esen’s dynamic "Speak Without Words."
Aydin’s piano and synth work and Liebman’s tenor
sax playing here are again both outstanding. And
Smith gets off a flurry of activity on the kit
near the end of this powerhouse piece that
should please his legions of drum fans. "Gentle
Warrior" is Liebman’s touching tribute to fellow
saxophonist, Brooklynite and Miles Davis alum
Bob Berg, who died in a fatal car accident near
his Long Island home on December 5, 2002.
Liebman’s soprano sax dances and soars on this
melancholy ode to his late friend and colleague.
Shifting gears, Esen’s "Fabric of Reality" puts
the group squarely back in fusion juggernaut
mode. With its chops-busting head full of
darting unison lines between synth and soprano
sax over jagged rhythms, this powerhouse number
harkens back to Weather Report’s classic one-two
punch of Zawinul-Shorter.
"Yildiz"
(Turkish for "star") is a Middle Eastern
flavored piece composed by pianist and frequent
Liebman collaborator Phil Markowitz. Opening
with Smith on Indian ghatam (clay pot) and
Liebman on Indian wooden flute, and underscored
by Smith’s supple brushwork and Esen’s
mysterioso comping on Fender Rhodes, the piece
builds to a dynamic crescendo with Liebman’s
tenor sax wailing over the top and Smith
traversing the kit with powerful aplomb.
"Maid in the Mist" is an atmospheric piece that
was triggered by one of Liebman’s childhood
memories. "When I was a kid my family went on a
trip to Niagra Falls and we went under the falls
in a boat which was called Maid in the Mist. I
always remembered how impressive that was and
actually wrote this tune about it 30 years ago,
but I’ve never played it before."
"Khanda
West" is a dramatic drum monologue that
showcases Smith’s melodic approach to the kit
along with his recent passion for South Indian
Carnatic music. "Khanda is a Carnatic term for
playing in groups of five," he explains. "And
West is a reference to the fact that I’m a
Westerner playing on a drum set."
Esen’s
closer "Edge of Tomorrow" is another fusion romp
fueled by Smith’s intensely driving rhythmic
pulse that features some blazing tenor work by
Liebman. Esen adds some fire of his own on
Fender Rhodes and synthesizer while Jackson
offers a virtuosic turn on electric bass. This
blockbuster piece also features a daring middle
section that results in some conversational
playing by all the principals. As Smith says,
"Once we play the head it’s a 'Let’s see what
happens and see where it goes' kind of approach.
We wanted to be able to open up, listen,
communicate and do what four musicians like
ourselves do best, which is improvise."
Smith, Liebman, Esen and Jackson plan to take
this music on the road keeping the moment from
Flashpoint going. This could prove to be one of
the more dynamic bands on the current fusion
scene.
-- Bill Milkowski
Bill Milkowski, who writes for Jazz
Times and Jazziz magazines, came of age during
fusion’s golden era (1967-1977).
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