Dave Liebman Leads Drumless Trio of Ben Monder and John Hébert On ‘Truth and Honesty’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Truth and Honesty by NEA Jazz master, saxophonist Dave Liebman, is the third installment of the four-part Renewal Series from Newvelle Records Liebman, who plays the soprano saxophone on all compositions, leads a drumless trio featuring guitarist Ben Monder (The Bad Plus, Maria Schneider Orchestra) and progressive bassist John Hébert, who is also a bandleader. The spare instrumentation yields a very intimate, oft incredibly vulnerable, highly exposed, and ultimately crystalline sound. Combine that with the audio quality of the vinyl-only Newvelle Records, and this makes for a superb listening experience.  There are a few new compositions written by Liebman expressly for this trio but mostly unique interpretations of well-known ballads.

The prolific Liebman, now in his mid-seventies, has recorded on more than 500 albums, yet still maintains that creative spark. Although a bit unsure, it’s highly doubtful that Liebman has ever played in this instrumental formation prior to this, nor have these three players gathered together for a recording. He is one of our foremost disciples of John Coltrane and has a legacy that includes playing with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones, having begun his recording career 55 years ago. The program begins with Liebman’s “Designs,” introduced by Monder’s atmospheric chords, over which Liebman’s purely toned soprano conveys the melody and variations thereof before stepping aside for a convivial dialogue between Monder and Hébert, each plucked and blown note heard distinctly. Most of these are well-known ballads, the first of which we hear is Gershwin’s “Lover Man,” with Liebman’s emotive solo leading to a rather intense chord-driven solo from Monder. The other well-known ballads, likely played hundreds of times by each of these players are “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Stella by Starlight,” and “Bye, Bye Blackbird.” 

“Stella by Starlight” proves to be a vehicle for Hébert’s lyrical pizzicato. Liebman bends notes on his soprano almost in the vein of a blues guitarist on his gutsy reading of “Come Rain or Come Shine” and Monder delivers a sudden, surprising burning solo on “Bye Bye Blackbird.” On the latter, it’s impossible to not hear Miles’ bluesy trumpet in Liebman’s soprano and Hébert’s walking bassline is a classic touch. Throughout, the astute use of space and the graceful manner of interaction between these three is virtually seamless, void of showmanship or any unnecessary flair. Listen carefully to hear call and response and a magical kind of chemistry, whether it’s the guitar echoing Leibman’s lines or connecting almost telepathically with the bassist.  It’s as if we are privy to deep conversation that aren’t meant to go beyond the room itself. 

The other compositions are Alec Wilder’s “Moon and Sand,” Jobim’s “Zingaro,” and a brief take on the Miles Davis chestnut “Blue in Green.”  Two bonus tracks are included as well – “Time Remembered” and “Blind Pig.” The session has a casual, low key feel conducive to the improvisation we hear from these three fearless musicians.

Newvelle Records’ The Renewal Collection is a limited edition four-album series affirming the resilience of music post-pandemic. The collection, Newvelle’s first series release in two years, features original compositions from select artists, recorded over five months and pressed on the highest quality 180-gram vinyl. The Renewal Collection was recorded and mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Marc Urselli at New York’s East Side Sound between November 2021 and March 2022 and mastered by Josh Bonati. The four records are pressed on 180-gram vinyl, using patented Groovecoated Stampers by Matt Earley of Gotta Groove Records, and stored in gatefolds designed by Studio Mococo. In addition to Liebman, artists included in The Renewal Collection are Elan Mehler, Michael Blake, and Nadje Noordhius. You can purchase the four as a set or each individually.

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