Liberty Ellman: Last Desert
Pi Recordings

If such a thing as a quintessential Pi recording exists, Liberty Ellman's Last Desert is a credible candidate. Consider: joining the guitarist on the release are alto saxophonist Steve Lehman and trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, Pi artists in their own right; Ellman's tunes traffic in the kind of structural intricacy one finds in Steve Coleman's and Henry Threadgill's pieces, both of them veteran presences on the label; and Ellman's not only played with Threadgill for almost twenty years (the guitarist's a Zooid member), the musicians the guitarist recruited for the album include tubaist Jose Davila, which in turn calls to mind Threadgill's use of the instrument in his own ensembles.

Its title taken from a grueling footrace known as the '4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series,' Ellman's sixth solo outing is a fine sequel to 2015's well-received Radiate and features the same personnel—the aforementioned figures plus bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Damion Reid—that distinguished the earlier release. One of the more salient details about the new set is that Lehman and Finlayson are as prominently featured as the leader. Such self-effacement is not only refreshing, but smart, too, the guitarist wise to recognize how much better his release will be when such talents are granted ample opportunity to imprint themselves on it. Adding to the release's appeal is its well-considered forty-five-minute duration.

Fittingly, guitar is the first sound heard on the album, with Ellman's warm, clean lines introducing “The Sip.” Executed in a floating rubato style, the contemplative setting eases the listener into the album, with each musician contributing reflective musings to the performance. Reid's brushed drums provide an elastic backdrop to inspired statements by Lehman and Finlayson, the two intertwining here much as they will on the album's other six tunes. If Threadgill's influence surfaces anywhere, it's during “Doppler,” what with its unusual thematic figures and loping rhythms, though Ellman's spidery funk line calls to mind the kind Miles Okazaki used to weave into Coleman's pieces too.

On the first of the fifteen-minute title track's two parts, the leader delivers a characteristically methodical solo first before the trumpeter enters, Finlayson also navigating thoughtfully and contributing nimble, acrobatic runs. Similar to the opening part, the second begins atmospherically before settling into a slow, funk-inflected groove over which Lehman solos, his progressing from short phrases to angular outbursts. The saxophonist asserts himself even more forcefully during “Rubber Flowers,” where his trade-offs with the leader make for arresting listening. With the rhythm section powering “Portals” with furious drive, Lehman and Finlayson trade solos viciously, the spectacular performance as close to straight-up jazz as the album gets.

Last Desert is an engrossing listen for a number of reasons, the superior calibre of musicianship obviously one of them. As compelling is the easing of the boundaries between composition and improvisation; rather than moving from thematic statements to solos and back again, melodic voicings and solos often intermingle. Enhancing the ensemble dynamic, Reid's inventive playing leaves strict timekeeping behind for an approach considerably more responsive to what's happening in the moment. More than anything else, however, Ellman's release impresses for how thoroughly it distills the Pi aesthetic into a single recording.

May 2020