LIEBMAN BIG BAND AND ENSEMBLE MUSIC
TO ORDER MUSIC GO TO: walrus music
BIG BAND ARRANGEMENTS:
1-DONE WITH RESTRAINT by David Liebman; arrangement by Jim McNeely
Very representative of 20th century contemporary harmony, this arrangement features the soloist weaving in and out of a variety of dissonant harmonies and subtle dynamic changes set in a rubato and ballad feeling. There is group woodwind improvisation as well as featured piano and bass and a synthesizer part (which can be combined with piano).
Pages:score=15;parts=56
Style: contemporary harmony/ballad
Level:difficult, conducting required
Instrumentation: 5/5/4/4 with soloist in addition;piano part has optional synthesizer)
Doubles: clarinets, flutes, bass clar, soprano sax.
Soloists: Bb soloist(can be transposed to other instruments as desired); piano and bass
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204).
2-WHEN TO LOVE by David Liebman; arrangement by Vince Mendoza
A waltz with a 2 over 3 feel and an odd metered contrasting vamp section, this features soprano or tenor saxophone and alto sax soloists trading over different sections. The piece begins languorously in a rubato fashion and builds to a climatic ensemble over the vamp.
Pages:score=24; parts=54
Style:jazz waltz and odd meter vamp
Level:difficult.
Doubles:none
Instrumentation: 5/5/4/4 with soprano and alto sax soloists in addition
Soloists: soprano sax, alto sax and bass
3-BEYOND THE LINE by David Liebman; arrangement by Vince Mendoza
This is a lyrical composition in an eighth note feel featuring Bb soloist with challenging chord changes of all types through the long form of the tune.
Pages:score=23; parts=62
Style:eigth note ballad like
Level:medium.
Instrumentation:5/5/4/4 with soloist
Doubles: saxes 1-4 on flutes while bari doubles on bass clarinet
Soloists: Bb soprano, tenor or trumpet (can be transposed to other solo instruments).
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204)
4-HIROSHIMA MEMORIAL by David Liebman; arrangement by Ed Sarath
A programmatic piece depicting use of the A-bomb ending World War II. It involves some rubato as well as question and answer episodes between the various wind sections. There is a slow “Elvin Jones” rhythmical feeling jazz vamp for the soloist and band building in intensity for the ending.
Pages:score=17; pages=37
Style: recitative and slow jazz vamp
Level:difficult
Instrumentation: 5/4/4/4 with soloist in addition, (optional synthesizer)
Doubles:none
Soloists:Bb soprano or tenor sax, or trumpet (can also be transposed to other solo instruments);
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204)
5-PABLO’S STORY by David Liebman; arranged by Bill Warfield
One of Liebman’s most popular pieces, this deceptively simple sixteen bar song set in a Latin/samba rhythm is dedicated to the great artist Pablo Picasso. The arrangement delves into a variety of colors and harmonies, also featuring drums, optional Latin percussion with challenging sax and doubling woodwind ensemble passages.
Pages:score=41; parts=92
Level:difficult.
Instrumentation: 5/4/4/4 with soloist in addition and optional Latin percussion
Doubles: 2 flutes;2 clarinets; bass clarinet
Soloists: Bb soprano or tenor or trumpet (can be transposed to other instruments as desired;guitar (acoustic or electric)
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204)
6-OFF A BIRD by David Liebman; arranged by Ed Summerlin
Celebrating Charlie Parker, this straight ahead jazz compositon is in a “time, no changes” format with plenty of room for the soloists to develop in any direction desired, offset by band interludes.
Pages:Score=22; parts=65
Style:open jazz blowing with free harmonic centers
Level:medium
Instrumentation: 5/4/4/4 with soloist in addition
Doubles:none
Soloists: Bb soprano or tenor sax and trumpet (can be transposed to other instruments as desired); guitar,
7-FRACAS by David Liebman; arranged by Alan Baylock
With a fusionish sixteenth note intense rhythmic underpinning and intricate unison lines, this piece features the soloist playing freely over the rhythm section as well as the entire band improvising together creating a frenzied and chaotic “fracas”. Other soloists can easily be added
Pages:score= 7; parts =51
Style:sixteenth note fusion with free harmonic centers
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:5/4/4/4-alto 1 plays soprano lead-(uses synthesizer and electric bass)
Doubles:none
Soloists:Bb soprano(can be transposed to other instruments as desired), guitar, drums
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204)
8-NEW BREED by David Liebman;arrangement by Scott Reeves
A straight ahead chord change jazz tune with an ostinato bridge, this piece features the sax section playing part of Liebman’s original solo recorded with drummer Elvin Jones in the early 1970s.
Pages:score=47; parts=85
Style: medium tempo jazz with chord changes
Level:medium
Instrumentation:5/5/4/4
Doubles:alto 1 plays soprano sax solo part
Soloist: soprano sax (can be transposed to other instruments as desired); piano
Recorded: Included in “Elvin Jones:The Blue Note Years” (Mosaic boxed set)
9-CARISSIMA by David Liebman;arrangement by Henrik Frisk
A slow eight note quasi ballad with five sections of four bar polychord harmonies, this arrangement features an array of contemporary colors and nuanced orchestrations.
Pages:score=22;parts=52
Style: eighth note ballad with polytonal harmony
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:5/4/4/4 with soloist in addition
Doubles:bari sax plays flute
Soloists:Bb soprano or tenor or trumpet (can be transposed to other Eb or C instruments as desired), piano or guitar
Recorded on “Beyond the Line”-David Liebman Big Band (Omnitone 12204)
SAXOPHONE QUARTETS
1-THE LONELINESS OF A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER by David Liebman;arranged by Caris Visentin
This suite which is approximately 30 minutes in length for satb is a challenging orchestration of Liebman’s groundbreaking solo recording from the 1980s. featuring overdubbed soprano sax. (CMP Records). It highlights soprano sax lead but there are also many instances of group improvisation based on tone rows, motifs and other serial ideas.
Pages:score=28; parts =32
Style: contemporary with improvisation (20th century)
Level:Difficult
Instrumentation:soprano, alto, tenor, baritone saxes
Doubles:none
Soloist:soprano sax; entire quartet
2-SAX LIFE-composed and arranged for four sopranos by David Liebman
This unique piece features four soprano saxophones in a wide ranging panorama of colors and harmonies with a section of group improvisation featuring assigned multiphonics and false fingerings.
Pages:score=13; parts=28
Style:contemporary (20th century)
Level:Difficult
Instrumentation:four soprano saxophones
Doubles:none
Soloist:group
SMALL ENSEMBLES:JAZZ
1-TWEETIE’S DELIGHT by David Liebman
A jazz tune in the Chick Corea vein with interesting changes that move around through a variety of colors and modulations featuring a shout chorus after the solos.
Pages:parts=20
Style:straightahead jazz with chord changes
Level:medium
Instrumentation: soprano sax, tenor sax, trumpet,piano, bass, drums
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
2-TRANSLUCENCE by David Liebman
A waltz inspired by the Bill Evans classic “Waltz for Debbie”, this composition employs diatonic harmony with some odd meter bars serving as a offsetting vamp section.
Pages:score=11;parts=14
Style:jazz waltz
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, flugelhorn or trumpet, piano, bass, drums
Doubles:none
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
3-SLUMBER by David Liebman
One of Lieb’s first original compositions recorded with Elvin Jones on “Genesis”, this tune has a rubato melody going into a slow jazz feel with a combination of modal and non-modulating chord changes. It is reminiscent in mood to Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil”.
Pages:parts=8
Style:slow jazz with chord changes
Level:medium
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, flugelhorn or trumpet, piano, bass, drums
Doubles:none
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
Recorded: Included in ”Elvin Jones: The Blue Note Years” (Mosaic boxed set)
4-LEPRACHAUN by David Liebman
A fast tempo tune with non-modulating chord changes allowing for open chromatic line improvisations.
Pages:parts=15
Style:fast jazz with chord changes
Level:medium
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, flugelhorn or trumpet, piano, bass, drums
Doubles:none
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
5-TOMORROW’S EXPECTATIONS by David Liebman
A haunting ballad with a moving bass figure and unconventional harmonic movement and very much in the Wayne Shorter 1960s compositional style.
Pages:parts=7
Style:ballad
Level:medium
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, flugelhorn or trumpet, piano, bass, drums
Doubles:none
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
Recorded:”Swingtime”-Pete LaRoca Sims-Blue Note
6-PORT LIGAT by David Liebman
A Spanish-tinged song that features a good deal of counter lines during the melody exposition and a vamp solo section over a diminished scale with extended voicings.
Pages:parts=14
Style:slow eighth ballad with vamp
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:2 soprano saxophones, trombone, piano, bass, drums
Soloist: soprano sax
Recorded: ”Timeline”-David Liebman-Owl/EMI(France)
7-SOMETHING SHE WOULD DO by David Liebman
This is a lyrical “ECM” type waltz with many major tonalities to play over and intriguing counter lines throughout featuring oboe, soprano sax and Bb clarinet.
Pages: parts=17
Style: ballad waltz
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:soprano sax, Bb clarinet, oboe, piano, bass, drums
Soloists: soprano sax,piano or optional by group members as desired
Recorded:”Timeline”-David Liebman-Owl/EMI(France)
8-THE BREAKING OF THE CODE-by David Liebman
This is an odd meter modal vamp tune with a rather dark harmonic atmosphere, some rubato call and response as well.
Pages:parts=14
Style:odd meter eighth feel
Level:dfficult
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, trombone, bass, piano, drums
Soloists:optional by group members as desired
Recorded: ”Timeline”-David Liebman-Owl/EMI(France)
9-MOVE ON SOME by David Liebman]
Parts of this song are reminiscent of the “Giant Steps” harmonic progression with a Latin ostinato vamp section as the release. It recalls an Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers type of material, fast and intense jazz.
Pages:score=13; parts=27
Style: fast jazz with chord changes
Level:difficult
Instrumentation:soprano sax, tenor sax, trombone, piano, bass, drums
Soloist:soprano sax
Recorded:”Timeline”-David Liebman-Owl/EMI(France)
10-PICADILLY LILLY by David Liebman
One of Lieb’s most well known tunes, named to commemorate his first European tour with Elvin Jones and their several week gig in London at the famous Ronnie Scott’s club, with Picadilly Circus nor far away, this composition has challenging harmonies and a pedal point in the bridge.
Pages:score=14;parts=30
Style:jazz with chord changes
Level:difficult
Intsrumentation:Trumpet OR soprano sax, tenor sax, trombone, piano, bass, drums
Soloists:soprano sax or trumpet, piano
Recorded:”Timeline”-David Liebman-Owl/EMI(France)