Familia

Lydia is in her early 20s as I write these notes, meaning it is impossible to know where she will end up in this journey of life. We shared music throughout her growing years at home, both on stage and at home. Caris and I never pushed music with our daughter though she took lessons and participated in the normal school events. My idea behind this recording was to have a memento of those times we shared through music in her youth. The fact that all of us enjoy the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim so much made it a natural to record his tunes. -Dave Liebman New Dave Liebman CD is a special family affair Album is his daughter's singing debut Review by Milton D. Carrero, of the Lehigh Valley Morning Call newspaper 7:19 p.m. EST, January 12, 2013 Dave Liebman was used to hearing his daughter wake up to an alarm clock set to the pop tunes of the day. Artists such as Eminem featured in Lydia's morning mix, which the Stroudsburg-based star jazz saxophonist heard with skeptism. But one morning, the notes sounded familiar. 'Out of nowhere,' he says, 'she was listening to 'A Love Supreme,'' John Coltrane's masterpiece. 'You just never know what they're thinking. You may think you know.' Lydia, a teenager at the time, had gone through her father's collection and picked out a box set of her father's hero. She kept it secret for some time. She would not let herself show that she liked the same things as her parents. But she had it in her blood. This is evident in 'Famla,' an album that features Lydia in her singing debut. The record originally was intended to be a family memento. Think of it as being invited to the Liebmans' house for an evening of family and fun. And in a family where the father is a legendary musician, who has recorded with the likes of Miles Davis and was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2011, and a mother who is a studied oboe player with a concentration in composition, fun means music. In 'Familia,' music is the space they share through the immortal melodies of Brazilian songwriter Tom Jobim. 'Jobim is the heaviest of all the writers in the popular song,' says Dave Liebman, and this, he believes, includes Cole Porter, George Gershwin, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He adds that Jobim's balance of harmony, melody and lyrics 'is the best of anybody I know.' Jobim's music was always heard in the Liebman house. Add to that a family trip to Rio de Janeiro, where Dave shared the stage with Brazilian songwriter, Guinga, and you have the germ for the album. 'There isn't one song by him that I don't love,' Lydia writes about Ginga on the CD booklet. She repeats it during a phone call from Boston, where the 21-year-old runs a jazz radio show and promotes musicians and events. The album includes two of Ginga's compositions. It is worth your money, if only to discover Ginga's work, Lydia says. But the album's purpose, says Dave, is to be a reminder of the good times the family shared with music. 'Something she would remember when I'm gone,' he says. One of the stars of this album is Lydia's mother Caris Visentin, who adds a clear imprint to the project. She takes control of the melody on oboe, freeing up her husband to express himself through the piano in some tunes. 'I think when we are playing music together,' says Caris Visentin Liebman, 'it brings out the strengths in all of us.' Caris plays on only three tracks: Guinga's 'Senhorinha' and Jobim's 'Por Toda A Minha Vida.' Her solo at the beginning of Jobim's tune 'Luiza' can make you cry in beautiful ways. Caris will perform with the group at Miller Symphony Hall Jan. 18. Also at the gig will be guitarist Vic Juris and bassist Tony Marino, who tour regularly with the saxophonist as members of the Dave Liebman Group and play on the CD (also on the CD are Marko Marcinko and Phil Markowitz). Drummer Willie Rosario, Lydia's boyfriend, will add to the family gathering. Lydia, who her father says was 'never amazingly serious' about music, meets the grade. Her voice dances with the harmony and the cadence of the Dave Liebman Group, whose members are