David Liebman formed a quartet dubbed Quest, in partnership with longtime running mate pianist Richie Beirach, after the dissolution of the acclaimed band Lookout Farm. Quest was short-lived, but has been revived with three original members and second-edition drummer Billy Hart, who took over for original drummer Al Foster, for this live in-concert performance, part of a European concert tour in 2005, 15 years after the group split. The specter of John Coltrane, always prevalent in the expressive tenor and instantly ...
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David Liebman formed a quartet dubbed Quest, in partnership with longtime running mate pianist Richie Beirach, after the dissolution of the acclaimed band Lookout Farm. Quest was short-lived, but has been revived with three original members and second-edition drummer Billy Hart, who took over for original drummer Al Foster, for this live in-concert performance, part of a European concert tour in 2005, 15 years after the group split. The specter of John Coltrane, always prevalent in the expressive tenor and instantly recognizable overblown soprano saxophone sound of Liebman, is even more pronounced as his signature. Beirach, always a brilliant modern jazz pianist, digs deeper than ever and shows a mature, thoughtful, less reckless identity while continuing to reinvent phrases and stretch parameters. Both are rarely cliché. With original bassist Ron McClure and drummer Hart, Quest's cats are on a mission to break down barriers and go further beyond what they explored in their previous life. Of the three standards "'Round Midnight" starts with spatial soprano and piano merging to pure energy, "Dark Eyes" gets a modal, lilting 6/8 treatment, surging, swinging hard, and slowing in dynamic repose, while "Lonely Woman" is shaded in eastern Indian elements with Liebman on wood flute. Coltrane's "Ogunde" revels in free no-time with Beirach suggesting Oriental or Middle Eastern motifs, and Hart's near-20-minute "Redemption" defines the reunion, freezing floating time borrowing a phrase from "Lonely Woman" before bopping the bridge, asserting freedom in a long postlude passage, and generally reviving the unique team spirit that made this band initially notable. Perhaps the centerpiece of the performance is "WTC/Steel Prayers," a paean to 9/11. You hear and physically feel the apathetic normalcy, increased tension, sudden impact, palpable panic, smoky aftermath, stunned quietude, and non-plussed disbelief -- it's all there. This is a very good representation of what Quest briefly was all about, and on occasion one would hope could remain to be. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi
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