The level of musicianship displayed by the 18-piece David Liebman Big Band on its recorded debut, Beyond the Line (OmniTone), is nothing short of breathtaking.  I’m talking about every aspect of musicianship:  Liebman’s astonishing soprano sax work; the imaginative colors captured by the six arrangers used for the session, among whom Jim McNeely has to be singled out; the concerted discipline of the East Coast players who wrestle with charts that constantly waver between tonality and atonality and seldom give sections the luxury of straightened swing; and the gifted soloists who are not intimidated by unorthodox changes that stray way beyond the line.  And conductor Gunnar Mossblad has translated Liebman’s eclectic wishes as if he were the saxophonist's musical alter ego.

"Hiroshima Memorial” is not a mere track; It’s a tone poem in which Liebman sets the mood with wood flute.  You can almost hear the airplane coming, the bombs falling.  “Done With Restraint” is akin to contemporary chamber music, often devoid of a tonal center and seemingly free of bar lines—and talk about contrast: it flows seamlessly into a sensuous acoustic guitar setup by guitarist Vic Juris for the Latin swinger “Pablo’s Story,” which is dedicated to Picasso. Stealing      the spotlight is McNeely’s Grammy-nominated arrangement of “Sing, Sing, Sing,” the only non-Liebman composition on the CD.  It’s a brilliant update of riffs from the Goodman classic, heightened by Liebman and the band trading fours, twos, even ones, with every hair in place.  It’s an amazing tour de force.

Among the soloists credited is “the band” for “Fracas,” and justifiably so.  That is one fiendishly difficult Alan Baylock chart that former Liebman drummer Billy Hart described as “a fracas, man!”  True, but engineers Peter Karl and John C. Fishell keep this melee sounding crystal clear.
 

The Beyond the Line CD was named "Audio Jazz CD of the Month" in the
February 2004 issue of Audio magazine in Stuttgart, Germany.
The following is the review of the CD by Peter Steder from the same issue.
( It's available here in the original German version on the Audio magazine site ):

Translated from German by Wolfgang Knittel (Delaware Water Gap, PA, USA)

(Der Grenzgänger: David Liebman weist dem Bigband-Format spannende Perspektiven)

The Commuter Crosses the Border:
David Liebman Shows the Big Band Format Exciting Perspectives

At all costs he does not want to be an innovator. David Liebman states: “There is no innovation; because we have totally exhausted the harmonic possibilities.” Then what is so wild about this CD? It is the link between composition, improvisation and arrangement that is fascinating here. The “band within a band” concept emerges vividly. In “Hiroshima Memorial” one positively hears the bombs. Liebman's soprano sax or flute strikes up a lament over the requiem sounds of the band where the human voice fails. As an example of crossing the border (“Beyond the Line”) the 57-year old New Yorker portrays the tradition-schooled avant gardist Picasso – and crosses Spanish folklore with neo-bop.  Wildly tumbling lines alternate with songlike melodies, which according to Liebman, are “the actual essence of Music.” Lyrical soli in contrast to intricate rhythms and hot harmonies distinguish “Carissima,” homage to Caris, the wife of the Bandleader – Grace is paired with brains. Even if  “technical perfection contributes nothing to the further development of an art form,” as Liebman recently declared, he once again confirms his rank as one of the succinct saxophonists after John Coltrane – not by chance did Miles Davis hire him in 1971.  It’s fantastic, how in “Sing, Sing, Sing,” breakneck soli go head over heels with mimicking outbreaks of the sax section.  Six arrangers were at work; the leader himself kept out of it (different from the big band CD “Joy”; Candid/Fenn CCD 79531). This guarantees the diverse tone colors for all seven titles.

Music rating:  Outstanding (5 "ear" icons out of a possible 5)

Sound/recording quality rating:  Very Good (4 "ear" icons out of a possible 5)
 

The following is a review of the Beyond the Line CD by David Dupont
on the One Final Note web site, published April 14, 2004:

No matter the setting, Dave Liebman has a keen ear for musical texture. That's true if he's playing solo, in duet with a percussionist or against an electronic backdrop. And it's just as true on the debut of the David Liebman Big Band. The album explores the traditional big band—that Wagnerian locomotive of massed trumpets and trombones softened by a saxophone section and colored by occasional woodwind doubling. I find it interesting that, aside from a little electronic keyboard, Liebman adheres to the standard big band instrumentation. Of course, this has its practical side. The charts fit the instrumentation of ensembles on college campuses or elsewhere that Liebman may front as a visiting artist. But ensembles hosting Liebman better be ready to do some serious woodshedding. These charts demand the kind of crack musicianship possessed by the crew that Liebman and director Gunnar Mossblad have assembled.

They have also called on a half-dozen top arrangers to set six Liebman originals and the big band warhorse "Sing, Sing, Sing", the latter of which was penned for a 1996 Benny Goodman tribute. Arranger Jim McNeely honors the song's rabblerousing heritage in a more contemporary way. The climax comes with Liebman trading licks with the massed saxophone section. He plays a bit and then all five toss back a raucous echo. Alan Baylock contributes "Fracas"; with its wild horn lines setting off drummer Marko Marcinko, it sounds like an up-to-the-minute take on "Sing, Sing, Sing". The session opens with Ed Sarath's harrowing "Hiroshima Memorial", which makes good use of the leader's wood flute. Liebman's haunting, hollowed-out tone is as powerful as the heavy brass and percussion punctuations meant to represent the bombing of the city. Liebman's flute sounds like the cry of a solitary survivor speaking for those who died. For the rest of the set, the tracks vary from the pastoral "Beyond the Line", arranged by Vince Mendoza, to McNeely's second contribution, the pointillistic romp "Done with Restraint". Throughout, the writers, who also include Henrik Frisk and Bill Warfield, keep Liebman as the center of attention; other than the leader, few others get a chance to solo. Guitarist Vic Juris is the second most prominent solo voice. On "Fracas" he rocks out; on "Pablo" he weaves intricate acoustic patterns.

Still, this is Liebman's show. His tart soprano works well piping out over swelling horns, even though the band largely eschews brass sledgehammer effects for richer, more nuanced chorale sounds. These textures help project the harmonic richness of the compositions. The ensemble and arrangers accomplish their mission of amplifying Liebman's musical vision.
 

The following is a review of the Beyond the Line CD by Jack Bowers
on the All About Jazz web site, published December 10, 2004:

Anyone who is familiar with David Liebman knows that the music he endorses and performs is sure to be cuttting edge - and such is the case with Beyond the Line, Liebman's first ever recording as a leader of his own big band. This is definitely ensemble music for the 21st century, and while it may not suit everyone's idea of what a big band should be or sound like, Liebman remains true to his artistic vision, which is to expand the boundaries of contemporary jazz by freeing himself and his companions from a number of time-honored structural and harmonic shackles while leaving in place those elements that separate jazz from other musical forms.

The result is an album of explicitly modern music that is sometimes pretty, occasionally unsettling, but invariably absorbing. As a non-musician, I can't imagine how Liebman's ensemble is able to unravel so handily the labyrinthine charts by Ed Sarath, Jim McNeely, Vince Mendoza, Henrik Frisk, Alan Baylock, and Bill Warfield; my hat's off to them for not only deciphering Liebman's elaborate blueprint but making the enterprise seem scarcely more taxing than a stroll in the park. Due credit must be given to longtime colleague Gunnar Mossblad, who ably directs the band while playing alto who ably directs the band while playing alto and soprano sax in its top-drawer reed section (a phrase that accurately describes the brass and rhythm too).

Liebman wrote the grimly evocative opener, "Hiroshima Memorial" after visiting that shrine to World War II's egregious devastation some two decades ago, and it is presented here in Sarath's graphic arrangement. Liebman's wooden flute introduces and ends the mournful piece, and here, as in most numbers, his soprano saxophone is prominently featured. Mendoza scored the lyrical "Beyond the Line," McNeely "Done with Restraint" (which can be interpreted either of two ways) and the durable Louis Prima vehicle "Sing, Sing, Sing," on which drummer Marko Marcinko resides comfortably in the driver's seat. Guitarist Vic Juris is showcased on "Beyond the Line" and Alan Baylock's strapping arrangement of the unruly "Fracas," pianist Jim Ridl on the mellow "Carissima," written by Liebman for his wife, Caris, and arranged by his student, Henrik Frisk. The finale, "Pablo's Story," is an ambitious eleven-minute homage to the late Pablo Picasso, tastefully scored by Warfield and embodying agreeable solos by Liebman and Juris, whose seductive guitar introduces its haunting theme.

Those who are partial to Basie, Herman, Kenton or Buddy Rich may wish to leave Beyond the Line off their holiday shopping list, while those who favor Maria Schneider, Dave Holland, Carla Bley, George Gruntz, David Murray, Pierre Dorge, Anthony Braxton or the Vienna Art Orchestra should seek it out without delay.
 

The Beyond the Line CD is analyzed in the seventh edition (2004, page 995) and eighth edition
(2006, page 805) of The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. This is the world's leading guide to recorded
jazz and is published in the UK. The Penguin Guide is reviewed here on allaboutjazz.com.

Here is the analysis of this CD in the Penguin Guide:

So much of Liebman's output has been either solo or in small groupings that it's hard to imagine - let alone hear - him working in a larger ensemble, even when he is the main soloist. The big band here is arranged by Gunnar Mossblad, and right from the start of "Hiroshima Memorial" you know you're in the presence of something big and powerful, in terms of composition, arrangement, and playing. "Sing, Sing, Sing" and "Done with Restraint" are equally good, and there are plenty of fine solo features from the other players: Juris, Ries, and Ridl most effectively. The whole package works just fine, though it might take you a moment or two to recalibrate and work out who the front-man is. He sounds tougher and more free-blowing here than usual.

---

History compiled by Patrick Dorian, member of the DLBB trumpet section and Professor of Music, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.