Groups led by two soprano saxophonists are not very common in jazz. And many would argue that that's a good thing. However, when carried out by the right people, the melding of these two, at times, unruly horns can be very magical. The soprano is somewhat of an enigma because it doesn't always blend well with other melodic instruments--timbre and intonation being the biggest culprits--but it does, however, blend well with other sopranos. I guess there's a reason why birds of a feather flock together.
The two soprano group I have with Dave Liebman serves as a great platform for exploring the sonic possibilities of the soprano, individually as well as collectively. In this particular clip we explore a lot of extended techniques such as playing with only the mouthpiece, playing the horn without the mouthpiece, and all of the sonic possibilities in between. Drummer Jim Black got into some nice sounds in the beginning of the clip bowing his cymbal with a violin bow. And I can't leave out bassist Tony Marino, who always manages to play the right thing at the right moment.
Pretty wild stuff!
Sam Newsome
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2 comments:
Moments of Truth and Beauty are rare to come by. Thank you for giving us this.
Thanks! I was happy to be there and be a part of it.
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