EXPANSIONS: The Dave Liebman Group

Celebrating the release of the group’s second album, The Puzzle, which centers on the construction skills of the group featuring five extraordinary musicians—Dave Liebman on soprano sax and wooden flute; Matt Vashlishan (reeds); Bobby Avey (keys); Tony Marino (bass) and Alex Ritz (drums). Each one is a heavy lifter… each one a puzzle solver. Interesting and revealing to see how the puzzle analogy works: the elements get scattered about at the onset; the improvisation and extrapolation are addressed as these pieces begin finding their place. Eventually, it all comes together and the assembled puzzle gets to shine.  EXPANSIONS directs its energy towards dissembling and reassembling the vernacular of jazz. This group is an adventurous ensemble, eager to invent and constantly in search of new terrain to explore. The Puzzle finds the band getting deep into the headier aspects of the process, daring each other to find fresh ways of considering the music at hand.