David Liebman / Ellery Eskelin

Non Sequiturs, Hat Hut Records ****

US saxophonist and educator David Liebman is one of the true originals of American jazz, utterly committed to every note and prepared to take the sort of risks from which lesser musicians shrink. His association with fellow saxophonist Ellery Eskelin began in the 1980s, when the younger man came looking

for lessons, and it has grown into such a close musical collaboration that even Liebman can’t always tell which saxophone is which. Eskelin compares the suite of tunes here to a river making its way to the sea, the terrain offering not only channels but obstacles too, turning the water this way and that. But whether it is meandering across the plains or rushing down a mountain side, with the fiercely creative rhythm team of Tony Mariano and Jim Black, this is a record in the best traditions of improvised music, where risks are emphatically embraced – and the music flows where it wants to. freshsoundrecords. com