Quest for Freedom

Saxophonist Dave Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach, who has worked with Lee Konitz and Freddie Hubbard, have been playing together for decades in duo and band settings. On 2010’s Quest for Freedom, the pair is joined by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band which is led by veteran composer and arranger Jim McNeely. The album hangs together nicely in no small part due to McNeely’s fine work. According to the liner notes, he thought of the featured duo as a single soloist because of their great chemistry, and went on to craft the often-chromatic charts with that in mind. Beirach’s “Pendulum,” which was recorded live, starts off with solo piano before the inventive arrangement kicks in. A sinewy tenor sax solo by Tony Lakatos is followed by well-shaped statements from Liebman and Beirach. The next five tracks, all recorded in the studio, are Liebman originals, including the lovely “Port Ligat.” McNeely wrote the closer, “The Sky Is the Limit”— another live cut — specifically for Liebman and Beirach. The piece draws its material from a twelve tone row, and both duo and big band shine brightly.