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Contact - Five on One

CONTACT -·- FIVE ON ONE – [Pirouet Records, 2010]

Five on the way to one. Five in one. Five on the same wavelength. The group is simply called Contact. But that’s a word with a whole slew of possible meanings. There is certainly contact–but not of the physical sort.
With the very first tones the quintet evinces a striking impression of vibrant unity. Or better yet–of synchronized life-blood. And it remains so until the last note. Five big names. An “All-Star” band. But not just. It’s not just a gathering of five jazz celebrities who get together to churn out a few pieces, and then scatter to the winds in every aesthetic direction in order to land where they better fit in. As the pieces are played, there is a growing sense that these musicians have produced a long overdue set of recordings that are an organic synthesis of their musical beings. Five who together discover a musical spirit that incorporates every individual. The CD is called Five on One, and on it, the musicians develop an intense interplay that is characterized by an intimate warmth.

Contact - Group Picture

Five Americans have gotten together: saxophonist Dave Liebman, guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Billy Hart. Except for bassist Drew Gress, who was born in 1959 and is the youngest in the group, they were all born in the 1940’s; for the last four decades they have been incisive figures in the music. Most of them have had long-standing musical relationships. Dave Liebman and John Abercrombie had already recorded together in 1973 with Liebman’s Band Lookout Farm. Liebman had already played with Billy Hart in the 1980’s, as had Abercrombie with Copland–and the latter is a relationship that has remained up to this day, including recordings with Pirouet. Copland and Liebman likewise have a long musical history together; they recorded the CD Lunar in 2001. And bassist Drew Gress has many CD productions under his belt as Copland’s trio partner. Five on One–the collaboration of five friends. Five musicians who can find each other in the dark.

..:: Source: Pirouet Records.com ::..