DAVID LIEBMAN
"The Blessing of the Old, Long Sound"

DAVID LIEBMAN

The Blessing Of The Old, Long Sound

featuring:

Alberto Mariani
Carlo Mariani
Tiziano Tononi

special guest:
Dionigi Burranca

1. THE BLESSING OF THE OLD, LONG SOUND (D. Liebman) 4:40
2. AFRICA (J. Coltrane) 9:46
3. INVASIONE (A. Mariani) * 6:51
4. L'AQUILONE GIALLO (C. Marlani) * 5:17
5. PUNTO D'ORGANO BALLO (C). Burranca) * 6:07
6. PROCESSIONE (D. Burranca) 4:52
7. THE DRUM THING (J. Coltrane) 7:34
8. ELM (R. Beirach) 6:02
9. SPIRITS RENEWED (D. Liebman) 6:40

T.T.: 57:52

1990 NUEVA MILANO — ITALY

David Liebman
soprano sax (all tracks except 'The Drum Thing"), tenor sax, flute ("Elm", "The Blessing"), sulittu [sardinian wooden flute] ("The Blessing"), synthesizer ("The Blessing").

Alberto Mariani
tenor sax ("Ballo Punto D'Organo", "Africa", "Spirits Renewed"), traditional (Mediana D, Mediana C, Fiorassio Bb) and specially projected launeddas [Punto Nuovo E, Punto D'Organo Gb9, Colmediana A].

Carlo Mariani
traditional (Fiorassio D, , Punto D'Organo G, Mediana C, Mediana D, Fiorassio Bb, Fiorassio C] and specially projected launeddas [Fiorassiana D].

Tiziano Tononi
congas, drums, boo-bam, assorted percussion.

Dionigi Burranca
traditional launeddas [Mediana a pipìa] ("Processione")

"Africa", "Invasione", "Elm", "Punto D'Organo Ballo" and "Processione" arranged by Alberto Mariani; "L'Aquilone Giallo" arranged by Carlo Mariani; "The Blessing", "The Drum Thing" & "Spirits Renewed" arranged by David Liebman.
All launeddas, either standard or not, have been specially built by Alberto Mariani for this project.
Tiziano Tononi plays SONOR signature drums and PAISTE gongs, cymbals & sounds.

Original project conceived and produced by Gianfranco Salvatore Executive producer: Patrizio Visco
Engineered by Dario Caglioni at NowoSounds Studio, Milan, November 20-25, 1989
Mixed by Goffredo Gibellini, Gianfranco Salvatore and Alberto Mariani at Sonic Recording, Rome, January 10-13, 1990
Recording & Mixing assistant: Carmela Cadore
Front cover: "Launeddas Player", graphic elaboration of a Sardinian bronzetto from the Bronze Age: original photo courtesy of Dr. Dante Olianas, "S'ISCANDULA Cultural Association" President.
Photos by Stefano Galvani
Cover design: Giuseppe Spada
Art Direction by Xerios

NC 1005

NOTE: THIS IS A RECORD OF 'PURE' ACOUSTIC MUSIC. EXCEPT FOR "THE BLESSING OF THE OLD, LONG SOUND", NO ELECTRONICS WERE USED.

NUEVA NC 1005 - 1990 NUEVA MILANO. ITALY

© Selections Published by
NATISE SOUND MUSIC PUBLISHING (S.I.A.E.)
The Blessing & Spirits Renewed (Liebstone Music/BMI);
Elm (Beirach Music/BMI);
Africa & The Drum Thing (Jowcol/BMI)

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LINER NOTES

Notes by Gianfranco Salvatore:

It all begins with the full moon. If the pipes are cut at full moon, between December and March, they will surely last longer, and there are also those who say that the sound will be better. The longest pipe will produce the lowest tone and will sound the drone, su tumbu: it is chosen from among the most common reeds in the Sardinian countryside and is held to be female, cannna femina. The other two pipes [the chanters] (sa mancosa manna and sa mancosedda) are made from the male reed, canna mascu, which is rarer and more precious. To get to the places where the male reed grows - in the past the site where reeds grew was not revealed to the uninitiated - often means a trip of tens kilometres for the player. Apparently all attempts to cultivate the male reed in more accessible places have met with failure. Once the reeds have been collected (by night, risking the anger of the landowner), they have to be dried for at least six months, hollowed out and then the note holes must cut according to a complex process of tuning. Finally, the three reeds must go together well; a male reed and the female reed will be held in the left hand, the other male in the right hand, in familiar, almost homely harmony.

The instruments are called launeddas, but the musicians prefer to use their quintessential name: sonus de canna, the sound of the reed. A bronze sculpture dating back to the first millenium before Christ (on the front cover) bears witness to their ancient tradition: the sculpture is ithyphallic, representing an ancient fertility symbol, almost as if the sound or the pipes by virtue of homeopathic magic were capable of stimulating the fecundity of their land of origin, thus contributing to the eternal cosmic cycle of death and regeneration from the seed. The instrument has been linked to the double pipe clarinets of the Egyptian and Sumerian civilisations, and to the aulos of classical Greece, but the launeddas has three pipes, this being a unique feature for, apart from the bagpipes, which are however made and played in a different manner, the same number is not found in any instrument in the music of ancient or modern civilisations. This is one of the many mysteries of Sardinian culture, that inscrutable mixture of ancient Phoenician immigration in an ancient, aboriginal mysterious civilisation.

John Coltrane would surely have loved these ancient traditions, these mysteries and sounds, for his musical thought was always directed towards all the non-Western cultures, which he might draw that element of cosmic and melodic spirituality on which his jazz was nourished. Coltrane has left us, but his inheritance lives on. Of the thousands of musicians who have absorbed Coltrane's inheritance, very few indeed have managed to form it into a truly personal style, and perhaps only one - David Liebman - has drawn a new art from it, an art which has its own laws, its own aesthetics and its own renewed spirituality.

In planning this encounter of musicians and cultures, 1 was favoured by the fact that David Liebman was already interested in the culture and music of Sardinia, and in the launeddas in particular. Another stroke of luck was finding the Mariani brothers, two musicians who had grown up in the school of one of the greatest living maestros of the launeddas, Dionigi Burranca, and who were at the same time awake to and experts in most recent developments of music. Among Italian saxophonists Alberto, Mariani is one of the most deeply initiated in the study of Coltrane's expressive language and is the only jazz musician in the world who knows the launeddas and is able to make them. In a period of work spanning several months Alberto picked the reeds by moonlight, seasoned them and worked on them in such a way as to produce non-standard models of the launeddas that were suitable for the post-Coltrane language: new instruments came into being, with the sound and expressive qualities of the old instruments but with melodic and polyphonic possibilities that had never before been seen. In a long, continuous exchange of information, tapes, scores and feelings between Italy and the United States, David and Alberto have found a point of encounter for two languages which seem so far apart, but which come together in pathos and in model spirit, and have produced arrangements in which the launeddas served as polyphonic or contrapuntal backings for jazz instruments. David's sensitivity towards ethnic music and the microtonal resources of his technique served in the difficult process of combining the not well tempered tuning of the Sardinian instruments with the saxophone. The technique of the younger brother, Carlo Mariani, and his experience both of genuine Sardinian tradition and of experiments in the style of ‘World Music’ added colour and contrast. Last but not least the presence of the Old Maestro Burranca provided not just a thrill of pride and excitement for those who worked on the difficult production of this record but also acted as an umbilical cord which transmitted the most authentic vibrations of the sonus de canna. With the excited feeling of having turned musical history and geography upside down, but with the blessing of a old, long sound.

Notes by David Liebman:

My experience with world or ethnic dates back to my group, "Lookout Farm" in the 1970s. Indian music wasincorporated into our sound and permeated several albums. In fact, a high point of all my travels still remains the recording we made in Bombay in 1976. The album called "Passing Dreams" featured the group's members interacting with four master Indian musicians.

The attraction of world music for an improvising musician like myself seems to be quite basic. These are the elements of spontaneous interpretation as well as ongoing improvisation of course. These are a given in ethnic music. But even more essential to me is the humaneness and passion which is so obvious in the folk music of any country. It is the truest expression of man's spirituality, uncluttered by intellect, yet embodying fantastic technique at the same time.

It was in Sardinia, while on tour with Paolo Fresu a few years ago, that I made the acquaintance of the launeddas and even played briefly with the Maestro, Dionigi Burranca. I met Alberto and Carlo Mariani while teaching in Rome and with their loving help, became more familiar with both the instrument and the music of Sardinia. Finally, Gianfranco Salvatore approached me to do this project.

What is the specialness of this music? For me, it is the obvious "joie de vivre" you feel as you listen and play in this language. These musicians celebrate life; the human spirit; the everyday fact of being alive. It is one of the most consistent joyful sounds I can image. Aberto Mariani is one of the most dedicated musicians I have known. When I tried to write some music for this project, I really didn't know what the launeddas was capable of, but 1 figured correctly that if anyone could make my ideas applicable, it would be Alberto. He is truly amazing and a very spiritual human being, Carlo is also a joy to be around and work with. And to be with the maestro - without understanding his words - I feel his wisdom and warmth as he spoke to his respectful students, Carlo and Alberto. How wonderful tradition can be - the passing of knowledge from generation to generation over the centuries.

All my appreciation to Carlo and Alberto Mariani for their and work and support; to Tiziano for his sense of taste and musicality; to Gianfranco for being the perfect producer and wonderful man; to Dario for his patience and hard work; to Patrizio and Carmela for their hospitality; to the people of Sardinia for the launeddas tradition; to all of the above for the opportunity to take part in one of the most special recordings I have made.

Notes by Alberto Mariani:

With their background of legend, tradition and technique the launeddas have met with modem western culture without losing any of their ancestral nature or of their millenary tradition.

Made of three pipes of different lenghts, the launeddas are played with the technique of "circular" breathing. Each of the three pipes is set vibrating by a short section of pipe in which a small opening is cut, something halfway between a reed and a mouthpiece. Two of the three pipes can be fingered over a compass of four tones, going back perhaps to the tetrachords of ancient times, and are based on a low note known as the arrefinu which is heard whenever the fingered notes are not played. Each note then seems to be enveloped in a cluster of overtones which contribute to the particular magic of the sound of the launeddas.

The traditional formats of the launeddas include a number of principle instruments (Medlana, Fiorassio, Punto d'Organo) which when combined together produce derivative instruments (Mediana a pipìa, Fiuda, Contrappunto, Simponia, Ispinello), all together covering an orchestral range of four octaves. The instrument to be played is chosen according to the musical event (a serenade, a procession, dance or simply for the pleasure of playing music) so that the musician can best express his skill as a maker and interpreter of the launeddas.

After long years of jazz studies I had the good fortune of discovering the launeddas thanks to my meeting with Dionigi Burranca of Samatzai (Cagliari, Sardinia), who opened up for me an extraordinary musical experience, bringing the expert help of a Great Maestro, the sincerity of a profoundly honest man, the qualification of his immense musical talent, and the unquestionably relevance and authenticity of a culture, the culture of Sardinia, which transcends the esthetic horizons of its present-day evolution. Throughout the years I have placed trust in Dionigi Burranca and in his teachings, and in time this trust has matured into an idea: thank you Maestro Burranca.

I had always been looking for a sound that at one and the same time could render the logical intensity of Coltrane's language and the cosmic essentiality of an instrument like the launeddas, the expression of a culture whose balance and harmony coincide with the nature of the instrument itself. When I got to know David Liebman - first through his records and then in person in concerts and at seminars - I recognized in his philosophy and his musical science something that was compatible with the appeal I had found in the launeddas, that were so far-removed from modern civilisation. From his youth Liebman had absorbed the inspiration of the mature Coltrane, catching the proper moods of his magic. He succeeded, furthermore, in preserving the emotions of those years, in elaborating new pedagogical codes that could transmit this knowledge, and with marvellous, unique vital energy developed an art of his own that today enjoys universal recognition. I have placed a type of faith in these values that borders on mysticism. Thank you, Mr Liebman.

(English translation by Timothy Alan Shaw)

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"Gianfranco Salvatore, musicologo e studioso dei rapporti fra jazz e altre culture musicali, ha progettato questo incontro che ha necessitato oltre un anno di preparazione, compresa la progettazione e la costruzione di speciali launeddas che potessero rispondere alle esigenze di quest’opera assolutamente originale e inedita. Un progetto estremamente ambizioso, difficile, ma condotto in porto in maniera davvero preziosa, con momenti addirittura straordinari… Un’opera che per la sua intelligente originalità ‘rischia’ di entrare nella storia della musica di questo secolo".
Mario Luzzi — DAC

“Riconosciuto da tutti come il massimo esponente del sassofono soprano. David Liebman è un musicista sempre sensibile alle sollecitazioni di qualsivoglia universo musicale. Il progetto sulla carta ed ai fatti molto interessante si è attuato grazie a Gianfranco Salvatore, produttore tra i piu attenti ed acuti del panorama nostrano. "The Blessing..." vede il sassofono di Liebman affiancato dalle canne magiche di Alberto e Carlo Mariani e da quelle del grande vecchio maestro Dionigi Burranca. Un lavoro che oserei definire "globale", in cui il jazz si addentra per strade inesplorate con risultati molto interessanti”.
Marco Crisostomi – AUDIO REVIEW

“Launeddas, strumento del futuro. Così vuole il metodo di chi prova a ridisegnare l’identità delle tre canne simbolo di Sardegna. La firma di Liebman, il virtuoso del jazz che già aveva assaggiato i sapori etnici di un’isola mediterranea, avalla l’operazione sul Cd della New Sound Planet, etichetta di respiro avanguardista, anche grazie alla produzione di Gianfranco Salvatore. Alberto e Carlo Mariani, da anni impegnati con puntiglio nello studio delle "cannas" di ogni festa tra Campidano e Gallura, conquistati da armonie ronzanti, che affiancano adesso l’amico americano in una prova audace. E un ospite speciale e autorevole come può esserlo un patriarca della musica tradizionale sarda, Dionigi Burranca, benedice l’operazione innovativa. Nessun attentato all’ordine stabilito: basta spaziare con timbri e sovrapposizioni per ridiscutere precetti che hanno resistito ai secoli. La nuova vita di un pezzo d’archeologia sonora comincia da qui. Le tre canne dei nuraghi spesso somigliano incredibilmente ai sintetizzatori di Philip Glass e di John Surman. Le idee coltraniane rifioriscono nell’intreccio di sax soprano e launeddas, quasi avessero riscoperto la loro sorgente originaria. E il contatto tra stilemi jazzistici e suoni delle etnie diventa alchimia entusiasmante. Potrebbe essere lo slancio di un rinascimento, un decollo oltre il folclore”.
Angelo Porru - LA NUOVA SARDEGNA

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