Genuinity (Criss Cross Jazz)
Noah Preminger
Released February 16, 2018
Jazziz Critics’ Picks 2018
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_llZf9rtmdq3GPUM1rXr4uBw0x6JwJ_40M
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5NK7nnKiv917rbG85CXdFt?si=Ki2COjf5RDu6PJwyCgK-sg
About:
Thirty-year-old tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger’s debut on Criss Cross in a pianoless context with trumpeter Jason Palmer and bassist Kim Cass, who record here with the brilliant drummer Dan Weiss for the first time on this occasion.
The hour-long program consists of nine Preminger originals. Each evokes a different mood and ambiance with strong melodies and percolating grooves that provoke unfailingly cohesive, thematic improvisations by Preminger and Palmer.
Genuinity is consistently compelling, and repays repeated hearings.
Track Listing:
1. Halfway To Hartford (Noah Preminger) 8:13
2. The Genuine One (Noah Preminger) 6:19
3. Mad Town (Noah Preminger) 5:36
4. TS And Her Spirit (Noah Preminger) 6:42
5. AH (Noah Preminger) 6:57
6. My Blues For You (Noah Preminger) 6:33
7. Nashua (Noah Preminger) 7:22
8. Walking On Eggshells (Noah Preminger) 5:20
9. Acknowledgement (Noah Preminger) 9:43
Personnel:
Noah Preminger: tenor saxophone
Jason Palmer: trumpet
Kim Cass: bass
Dan Weiss: drums
Recorded September 15, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
Produced by Gerry Teekens
Recording and Mixing: Michael Marciano
Mastering: Max Ross
Photography: Jimmy Katz
Review:
Quite often when
an über-talented musician records a disc under his own name, he uses sidemen of
lesser talent so as not to detract from his moment in the limelight, or because
his ego won’t allow him to play nice. That has never been the case with
saxophonist Noah Preminger. On Genuinity, his tenth disc released as
a leader, Preminger employs partners of equal weight. Listening to the
saxophonist and trumpeter Jason Palmer reminds you of the Sonny
Rollins/Don Cherry Quartet circa 1962-63 and the early recordings
of Wayne Shorter & Lee Morgan. The pair complement each
other here and on his three previous recordings Meditations On
Freedom (Dry Bridge, 2017), Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground (Self
Produced, 2016) and Pivot: Live At 55 Bar (Self Produced, 2015) with
no apparent or stated chain of command.
Also heard on those three previous discs was bassist Kim Cass who recently
worked on pianist Matt Mitchell’s A Pouting Grimace (Pi
Recordings, 2017), along with drummer Dan Weiss, a leader in his own right
and a mainstay in groups led by Rudresh Mahanthappa, David Binney,
and Miles Okazaki, to name just a few.
The disc opens with a brief and decadent saxophone solo “Halfway To
Hartford,” only to detonate into a hyper-drive post-bop quartet high wire
exercise. The music seems to fend off any musician that might consider sitting
in with this quartet. That vigor is displayed throughout, as with “Walking
On Eggshells,” where a conversation between saxophone, trumpet, and drums
has each player eager to remark and respond to the other’s soloing. All the
music on Genuinity was written by Preminger and wholly embraced by
the quartet. “TS And Her Spirit” is powered by a funky drum line and
interlaced horns, which allows Cass the freedom to interact with Preminger,
preaching the gospel of his bass. This ongoing conversation is the foundation
of Preminger’s music, whether it is weaving a desolate web as on “Mad
Town” or surrendering as on “My Blues For You,” his tone is that
of an old soul and his foundation in the blues is unassailable. He leaves us
with “Acknowledgement,” which travels from Lester
Young to John Coltrane with acknowledgement to Joe
Henderson and Joe Lovano. In short, Preminger continues to state the
case that he belongs at the table with today’s blue-chip tenor players.
Mark Corrotto (All About Jazz)
