Early in saxophone and flute player Paul Lieberman’s career during a session at Mickey Hart’s, Gil Evans commented to Airto “everything he plays sounds right,” and more recently, David Sanborn responded to a NY performance with a surprise kiss.

After earning his BA at Yale, Paul responded to simultaneous tour invitations from drummer/big band leader Buddy Rich and Brazilian Jazz legends, Airto Moreria and Flora Purim, by becoming the only “gringo” in the latter, all-Brazilian group. Paul toured the US with Airto and Flora for the next two years, appeared at major clubs, theaters, and festivals, performed for audiences of up to 30,000, including his Lincoln Center debut.

He then moved to Rio de Janeiro for four years, where he became Brazil’s first-call studio saxophone and flute player, recording on over 50 albums and doing arranging and producing work for CBS, Warner, and other labels. He married Zaida, his Brazilian wife of 32 years, and became so thoroughly assimilated into the language and culture of Brazil that he was routinely presumed to be a native.

Paul has performed and/or recorded with Pat Metheny, George Benson, David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, The Allman Brothers Band, Mickey Hart, Taj Mahal, Rufus Reid, Jaki Byard, David “Fathead” Newman, Bernard Purdy, Lew Soloff, Jimmy Heath, Paquito D’Rivera, Ronnie Foster, Claudio Roditi, Dick Oatts, Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch, Jon Faddis, Wayne Bergeron, Arturo O’Farrill, Dave Samuels, Bobby Sanabria, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, BJ Thomas, and David Byrne, as well as Brazilian stars such as Simone, Chico Buarque, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Toninho Horta, Alcione, Joao Bosco, Leny Andrade, Miucha, and Roberto Carlos, along with a veritable Who’s Who of Brazil’s top musicians

Paul’s critically acclaimed 2011 CD “Ibeji” reached multiple best of the year lists, garnered nominations for Latin Jazz Flutist of the Year, Brazilian Jazz Album of the Year, and finalist status in the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition.  The CD looks at Brazilian music and American Jazz as twin children of Mother Africa – separated at birth, raised in distant parts of the world, and now reunited. The recording features stellar support from Rufus Reid & Nilson Matta on bass, Duduka da Fonseca, Tim Horner, and Allman Brothers co-founder Jaimoe on drums, Joel Martin on piano, and Eugene Friesen on cello. Reviewers say:

“Lieberman [who] is a soulful player on any instrument, conveying deep emotional content…demonstrates his instrumental mastery and also reveals himself as a formidable composer” in this “stunning, heartfelt, and emotional” recording. With “high musicianship displayed with emotion, laid bare” the “sparkling originals” and “fascinating” arrangements “enchant” and “celebrate life to its fullest” in this “beguiling mix.”

“Blessed with two cracker-jack rhythm sections,” the “oh-so-sweet” CD “shines” with “‘soul’ music through and through” that “combines technique, intelligence, experience, emotions, and risk-taking that pushes the musician beyond the ordinary or the commonplace.”

“With “one of the best covers of a Beatles tune by a jazz player, a beat that floats on every track…pervasive ensemble joie de vivre” and an original that “sent chills up my spine,” “Ibeji is a hell of an accomplishment… and displays, quite brilliantly, the commonalities of these music heritages.”

Similarly with Paul’s clinics:

“Paul Lieberman’s clinic proved to be a highlight of the 2012 Syracuse Jazz Fest Education Program. Drawing on his experience in music education, Paul was able to get right down to the level of the students in the audience and deliver meaningful, relevant, and eminently usable information designed to improve their understanding and performance of America’s music; jazz. For over an hour, he held the students in rapt attention as he both challenged and motivated them on their journey toward becoming better musicians. It was a thrill for me to see the student’s reactions: many told me afterward that they were truly inspired and “charged up” by Paul’s presentation. My only regret is that we only had an hour to give him!”

Paul is a D’Addario Performing Artist, a Gemeinhardt Woodwind Artist, and a JodyJazz Artist. He has made clinic/masterclass/guest artist/guest lecturer/visiting artist residency appearances at the Syracuse Jazz Fest, the St. Lawrence County Music Educators Association, Yale University, Northeastern University, Boston University, Wheaton College, and the Federal University of São João del Rei, and is a guest lecturer for Primary Source, Inc.

He is also the founder and co-director of Voyages on the Black Atlantic, a grant-funded educational initiative that uses the music of Mardi Gras, Brazilian Carnaval, and the Caribbean to offer students global, historical, and sociological perspectives on the African roots of the music and cultures of the New World.

Paul spent four years on the UMass Amherst jazz faculty, where he earned his MM in Jazz Composition and Arranging and is now on the faculty at the Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Mass.  After being evaluated as, among other things, “incredibly thoughtful, compassionate and brilliant, disarming, accessible, engaged, interesting, funny, supportive, collaborative, calm and cool,” he was named the school’s Artist in Residence.  As such, in addition to directing wind ensembles and jazz bands, Paul curates performances featuring professional talent and does cross-curricular teaching regarding materials from Voyages on the Black Atlantic. He continues to perform all over the world as a leader and sideman.  Before accepting the Artist in Residence position, this included being Music Director of Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, led by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jaimoe, co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band.

Other recent activities include:

  • Performance in an All-Star tribute band at NJPAC’s James Moody Democracy of Jazz Festival, alongside George Benson, The Manhattan Transfer, Jimmy Heath, Kenny Barron, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jon Faddis
  • A commission from Yale University for big-band arrangements of music from “Ibeji”
  • A two week concert tour of the Czech Republic by the Paul Lieberman Quartet
  • Headlining the Chapada in Jazz Festival in Brazil, following two days of university master class and performance
  • Saxophone quartet co-founded with Gary Smulyan, Marty Ehrlich, and Jason Robinson
  • Touring with The Gregg Allman Band and Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band in the US and Europe
  • Recording on Ali Ryerson’s Jazz Flute Big Band album as soloist alongside Hubert Laws and other major jazz flutists
  • Appearances at New York’s Symphony Space as featured soloist with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
  • A week of educational performances at Carnegie Hall
  • Commission and performance of a dance piece for Central Connecticut State University
  • Performances with the Springfield Symphony
  • Creation of wind/percussion music for worldwide performances by the Young@Heart Chorus
  • Clinician appearances at the Syracuse Jazz Fest and the S Lawrence County Music Educators Association, and receipt of various grants.

More information – including a long list of recordings and more reviews – at www.paullieberman.com

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