Masters In Paris

"Surprises," saxophonist Dave Liebman said when asked about playing with the master pianist Martial Solal. Their second Sunnyside album of duets finds them before a knowledgeable and appreciative audience at Studio 104 de Radio France, a center of uncompromising music in the City of Light. "The surprises are endless," Liebman told me. "Martial doesn't want it to be perfect. He's twenty years older than I am, and, to borrow a term from a newer generation, he wants the music to be 'killer.' When he plays, it is definitely killer." There is an exhilarating range of music in this second Solal-Liebman album, which follows their Masters In Bordeaux, (ssc 1489). Whenever their next encounter may be, let us hope that someone with recording equipment is invited. The world needs more of the infectious spirit that these masters found together in Paris.