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American-born drummer Jeff Williams has loved an illustrious fifty-year profession taking part in with the likes of Stan Getz, Joe Lovano and Lee Konitz. A founding member of the acclaimed quartet Lookout Farm (with Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach and Frank Tusa), he spent a lot of the final 20 years in London however lately moved to Portugal. Now settled there, we caught up with him to debate his new album with Liebman, recorded stay in 1991 and popping out on Whirlwind later this month. Interview by Charlie Rees
LondonJazz Information: You and Dave Liebman go manner again… how did you first meet?
Jeff Williams: I had been at Berklee School of Music for a few years, then left the college and went again to Oberlin, Ohio the place I’m from. My plan was to save lots of up cash and transfer out to New York, and I used to be fortunate sufficient to get a well-paid job at a manufacturing facility by the final supervisor there, whose son I had been instructing drums. So in 1971, I took the $3,000 I had saved up and moved east. A good friend of mine from New York who was simply ending his research at Oberlin School talked about the title of Dave Liebman to me, how he had this organisation of musicians known as Free Life Communication (a cooperative based by Liebman in 1970) which consisted of numerous the musicians in my peer group or barely older (Randy Brecker, Richie Beirach, and so forth.). I knew these guys had been someplace, however they weren’t taking part in on the Village Vanguard or the Village Gate (but).
I’d been in New York for a couple of weeks and I had Dave’s cellphone quantity, so I known as him… He was very good, mentioned that Richie Beirach, Frank Tusa, one other drummer and he had been taking part in that night time, and why don’t I come by. So I sat in, and Richie and I hit it off instantly so we began hanging out. I can’t bear in mind the precise sequence of occasions from there as a result of the following factor that occurred to me was working into Dave Holland. Circle – the band he had with Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul – had simply damaged up, so he was on the town. I’d seen him at a couple of Free Life Communication occasions and beforehand watched him taking part in with Miles. He was somebody I actually felt a connection to and wished to play with. It so occurred that I used to be taking part in a session at Glen Moore’s loft, and in some unspecified time in the future, Dave (Holland) got here in and we performed a couple of tunes. After that he mentioned he was working with Stan Getz they usually had been in search of a drummer… was I ? It was like a dream come true! I used to be out of cash by then, so fortunately Stan employed me.
Getting the gig with Stan modified everybody’s opinion of me. Dave (Liebman), and possibly Richie too, had been taking me extra significantly. We ended up forming a band with Frank Tusa on bass known as Lookout Farm, and when Manfred Eicher approached Dave about making a report, we all of the sudden discovered ourselves on ECM and had work round Europe. It was precisely what I aspired to do, to be in a band with my friends taking part in unique music at that stage, opening for Climate Report and John McLaughlin and numerous others. We didn’t actually make any cash to talk of, however it was a pleasant three-year run. It felt like we had been a small military, conquering any stage we occupied.
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LJN: How did Liebman’s management examine with Stan Getz?
JW: It was a distinct relationship, after all, as a result of Dave was just about my peer, extra like an skilled older brother, whereas Stan was sufficiently old to be my father. He had been in present enterprise because the Bossa Nova craze and had a distinct view on presenting music to the viewers. He would sometimes remind us to not neglect that the gig we had been taking part in was a present. Additionally, his dynamic vary was big, so I needed to study to play with depth however with out quantity except essential. Evaluate that to taking part in with Dave… I can’t depend what number of cymbals I cracked! With drummers, he simply desires an increasing number of. He had an excellent sense of presenting music as properly, however it was extra open for us to see the place it may go and the way far it may very well be taken. So far as dynamics and structuring a set, Dave and Richie are fairly a pressure. They had been answerable for the fabric for certain.
LJN: How did you reconnect with Liebman and what had been you doing in between?
JW: From 1976 to 1991, I don’t assume we performed a be aware collectively. After freelancing for the rest of the ’70s, I wanted to get a job. My life took a flip as a result of I ended up in Maine working a publishing firm. I used to be nonetheless taking part in, I might drive right down to Boston and do gigs with Jerry Bergonzi and numerous others. Anyway, I completed that entire factor and moved again to New York in 1982. Later within the early ’90s, I found this place Bar Room 432 on 14th Road in Manhattan, all the best way west within the Meatpacking District, and began a scene there. I performed as soon as per week with Ben Monder and Scott Colley, and infrequently with a band that I put along with Kevin Hayes on piano, Patrick Zimmerli on sax (initially Adam Kolker), and Doug Weiss on bass.
Joe Lovano, whom I’d recognized for fairly some time, instructed that we play duo there. So we did that – Dennis Irwin additionally joined us for a part of that night – and I believe Dave caught wind of it. He mentioned to me, “We may try this”. I had a fairly good cassette recorder at the moment, so I used to be capable of report it. In order that’s the way it occurred. It was only one night time, we hadn’t performed and we didn’t focus on something.
LJN: As regards to Bar Room 432, there may be little or no data that continues to be about it…
JW: It’s lengthy gone. It lasted perhaps a 12 months or two. It was owned by three companions they usually had completely different concepts of what they wished to do with the membership. I first got here throughout it as a result of I performed a personal occasion there. It was not an enormous place however it was very nice within the sense that it had this stunning wooden aesthetic, so the sound within the room was fairly stay however it was very heat. So after this non-public occasion, I obtained speaking to one of many companions – his title was Jim, that’s about all I can bear in mind – and really helpful to him that he begin a jazz membership there. I gave him a bunch of names that he ought to rent, and it kind of snowballed into one thing the place just about all people performed there. Then the opposite companions introduced a connection to beat poetry, so Allen Ginsberg and all of the beat poets from the ’50s can be there. We had been double booked with them one night time, so we traded units. It was form of a launching pad for me to begin recording as a pacesetter, writing music and placing bands collectively. It was a pleasant scene for some time, however then it became a intercourse membership… I don’t need to say the title of it as a result of it’s form of off-colour. That was the tip of the jazz and I don’t know what occurred after that.
LJN: This newest recording with Dave Liebman (1991) is all free. You mentioned there was no dialogue earlier than you performed… none in any respect?
JW: Proper, we simply began taking part in.
When Lookout Farm led to 1976, Dave requested me to do a duo tour with him. We had been opening for Gary Burton’s band. There was a report that got here out of that known as The Final Name; half of it’s Mark Isham with Liebman and others, and the opposite half is us taking part in duo stay, so we had achieved that. However once more, that was fifteen years earlier than. What I knew was that Dave has a really fluid musical thoughts. That was one thing that separated him: Like in Elvin’s band, Steve Grossman was very thrilling; however so far as compositional consciousness, Liebman actually had that. Attending to play with him constantly at one level gave me numerous perception into how you can play with him and likewise what he was capable of convey out of me. When you’ve got the chance to play constantly with somebody, you know the way they reply musically: you form of know the place they’re going, what they want, what prompts sure issues. Each of us had developed an ideal deal since 1976, so we had extra to attract from. We tended to only burn out with Lookout Farm, however this recording has a level of subtlety at instances. It has a sophistication that we didn’t have earlier than.
LJN: Why has it taken over thirty years so that you can launch it and when did Whirlwind are available in?
JW: I believe I had solely listened to it as soon as after the occasion and didn’t take into account placing it out on the time. Then for a very long time after that, I couldn’t discover it for some cause. Sooner or later I used to be going by my cassettes and at last, I discovered it. I then digitised it and made a replica to ship to Dave. As soon as he signalled his enthusiasm for me to place it out, I went seeking a label to launch it. As I already had six albums with Whirlwind below my title, and Michael Janisch (the founding father of Whirlwind Recordings) and I’ve been working collectively because the label began, it appeared the logical place to go.
LJN: You latterly moved to Portugal… what’s the scene like there?
JW: I’ve already achieved a few recordings since I obtained right here, in addition to some gigs. However I’m nonetheless model new and though I’ve been lucky to have performed with some nice musicians, like Gonçalo Marques and Demian Cabaud who reside right here. I’m simply attending to know the scene. I don’t assume there’s numerous work, however there are numerous glorious musicians. There was a spot known as the Sizzling Membership, an actual jazz membership the place you would play 4 nights per week – the one one like that within the nation, as far as I do know. Sadly, the constructing was lately condemned as a result of it was about to break down, in order that they’re now in search of a brand new dwelling. There are different smaller locations, even one in Parede, the place I now stay. I’m at the moment considering my incapability to talk the language and what to do about that. The individuals are good, they are going to communicate English. However that will get fairly outdated for them, I believe. Fortunately for me, there may be an American contingent – John O’Gallagher, Michael Formanek, and our wives – and we lately celebrated Thanksgiving collectively.
LJN: What’s developing over the following few months for you?
JW: I simply completed a tour of Slovenia and numerous locations, form of an Jap Europe tour, with the nice saxophonist Igor Lumpert. Then in February, I’m coming again to the UK for a few week to report with Steven Saunders with some gigs in Birmingham, then in March I’m out within the US MidWest with Leo Genovese’s trio. In April, I’ll be again in Birmingham and London with Andrew Woodhead’s Swing You Sinners.
Charlie Rees is a London-based saxophonist, composer/arranger and is the Assistant Editor of LJN
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