The Kaleidoscope Quintet is not a band with recording or touring history. It’s a moniker adapted by a stellar group of musicians for this special performance captured live at the historic Deer Head Inn in 2013. That’s not to say they may resurface again as Dot Time Records is calling this their debut. Even though the two major draws of the group are saxophonists and kindred spirits Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano, Dancing On the Edge owes mostly to the group’s drummer, Michael Stephans, in terms of both the occasion for and the name of the band. The other quintet members are vocalist Judi Silvano (Lovano’s wife) and bassist Tony Marino. Silvano is also a renowned painter whose original painting, commissioned specially for this project, graces the cover.
Stephans is not only an accomplished four-decade career drummer but he is also an acclaimed poet and author. It was the publication of his book Experiencing Jazz: A Listener’s Companion which brought about this performance. Published in 2013, the book is an expansive survey on the art of listening to and enjoying jazz. Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano contributed prominently to the volume (Liebman even contributed the Preface), and so the two musical compatriots joined Stephans for the launch party and celebratory performance.
The kaleidoscope has also intrigued Stephans, who sees the instrument as a reflection of his own artistic endeavors. “As improvising musicians in performance, our quintet thrives in a kaleidoscopic world where we are independent “voices” who – while initially unique in our own identities, come together and become part of a larger sonic entity, only to shape and re-shape ourselves throughout each performance; that is, we move to re-assemble sounds and are ephemeral – constantly changing musical shapes and visions,” he explains in the liner notes. And so, the name of this group is a particularly apt for these five, multifaceted sonic explorers.
The Kaleidoscope Quintet, is without a chordal instrument such as a piano or guitar, the impetus centered on the front line. They performed a varied set for free, explorative jazz that night from which five cuts were culled for this recording – “Blackwell’s Message” and “Topsy Turvy” by Lovano, “Day and Night” and “Get Me Back To The Apple” by Liebman and a lively rendition of the trusted standard “There Is No Greater Love.” Silvano joins the frontline, lending her expressive and singular wordless vocals to the two Lovano-penned compositions, as her voice literally dances through the changes, almost like a third horn. This is not new for fans of Lovano as Silvano has appeared on many of his recordings. Likewise, the paring of Liebman and Lovano’s dueling horns is certainly not new either. The two have appeared together most notably on their co-led endeavor Saxophone Summit: Gathering of Spirits with the late Michael Brecker and as co-leaders on The Music of John Coltrane – Compassion. The two trade solos, share some ensemble work and engage in several great exchanges with the rhythm section, especially Stephans (check out “There Is No Greater Love” for example.)
What is new is the improvisational, in-the-moment performances that would only be possible from a closely knit group that has performed together and knows each other’s tendencies so well. It’s the magic of live music that we so sorely miss right now. Stephans sums it up well in his liner notes: “…at our best, we are what jazz writer Whitney Balliett called “the sound of surprise,” where the level of intuitive interaction is so high that we keep our listeners and ourselves engaged and alert to new melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic possibilities.” Given that the performance dates back seven years, it remains highly memorable for the players, for the enthusiastic audience fortunate enough to be there that evening, and for the label to establish this as the debut for the principals. These mostly long, adventurous cuts full of the aforementioned “sound of surprise.” Casual listeners need not apply.
