Saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman, has donated his archive, which spans over 60 years, to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The collection, a treasure trove of materials presenting a comprehensive picture of Liebman’s professional career including such items as unpublished and published manuscripts, gigging and grant proposals, teaching materials and memorabilia, will be permanently housed at the college’s Stan Getz Library. Its official opening will take place at Berklee on November 27.
“I am thrilled about the new relationship that has come my way with Berklee and my archives,” says Liebman via an official press release. “Beginning in the 1960s, my collection of materials that reflect my artistic path is quite voluminous. To have the number one jazz institution in the world be the repository of my life’s work is beyond words.”
Throughout his career, which stretches nearly 50 years, Liebman has made more than 500 recordings, many of them as a bandleader, and several of them original compositions ranging in style from classical to rock to free jazz. He has also played with such seminal artists as Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and McCoy Tyner, among others. Liebman has visited Berklee a number of times in the past, including as an artist-in-residence in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, under the direction of founder Danilo Pérez.
“Our students have been honored by Dave Liebman’s presence and performances on our campus, and the devotion he shows to jazz,” says Berklee president Roger Brown. “He is a vital figure in this American art form, and his influence will continue to inspire musicians for decades to come with his archives on our campus.”
Featured photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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