Among Giants (Blue Engine Records)
Sarah Hanahan
Released June 21, 2024
DownBeat Five-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lDF-QROkINKe4nUfcAAvY2Xkuxa67xfz0
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About:
Rising star alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan’s debut album Among Giants showcases her raw talent, her unique voice, and her deeply felt, instantly memorable compositions. The album also demonstrates why she’s the heir to a jazz tradition she’s long revered, teaming her up with a band of legends who’ve helped nurture the young lion’s burgeoning career.
Featuring all-stars Marc Cary on piano, Nat Reeves on bass, and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, Among Giants finds Hanahan marshaling a powerhouse rhythm section to make an unforgettable statement that announces her arrival on the global jazz scene. It’s also a passionate declaration of her dedication to pushing the music forward while also honoring the past. “New voices have pushed and pulled and conceptualized where jazz is today, but through it all, bebop has stayed constant and relevant,” Hanahan says. “This is what we call the lineage and the tradition, and it was my inspiration for the record. I want to pay my respect to my mentors and to the greats who have come before me, but I also want to show who I am and the voice I have to contribute to this lineage.”
Already hailed by NPR’s “Youngbloods” series as a star in the making, Hanahan has put her name on the map by performing and touring with renowned musicians including Peter Martin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joe Farnsworth, Steve Davis, and the Grammy award-winning Mingus Big Band. Now, with the release of Among Giants, Hanahan shares her own voice as a young star revolutionizing the genre. The record is an indisputable demonstration of Hanahan’s technical prowess and compositional brilliance, revealing her full potential as an artist.
Track Listing:
1. Welcome (John Coltrane) 03:52
2. Resonance (John Coltrane) 06:45
3. A House Is Not a Home (Burt Bacharach / Hal David) 07:06
4. NATO (John Coltrane) 08:02
5. Honey (John Coltrane) 07:34
6. Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael) 05:34
7. On the Trail (Ferde Grofé) 06:43
8. We Bop! (John Coltrane) 06:57
Personnel:
Sarah Hanahan: alto saxophone
Marc Cary: piano
Nat Reeves: bass
Jeff “Tain” Watts: drums
Bobby Allende: percussion (1, 4, 5, 8)
Recorded June 8th – 9th, 2023, at Power Station/ Berklee NYC
Studio A
Producer: Abraham Burton
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Mark Wilder
Executive Producer: Wynton Marsalis
Review:
Alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan is paying her debt to the ancestors in every note she plays on her glorious debut recording, Among Giants. Hanahan started sharpening her chops at the University of Hartford and touring with jazz luminaries like Dee Dee Bridgewater and Steve Davis. She’s here backed by drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, pianist Marc Carey and bassist Nat Reeves, who aid in making her first outing a bulletproof mission statement. As a first-time session leader, Hanahan plays with pure fierceness and lyrical conviction that makes you believe she could at will access the spirits of greats like Jackie McLean and John Coltrane. Her seriousness about the music and ferocious blowing is right up there. T here’s a healthy dose of originals that showcase Hanahan’s compositional acumen and standards to show she understands how to navigate the great American songbook. She bears McLean and Coltrane’s influences on the opener, “Welcome,” a Coltrane original. Hanahan’s vigorous blowing behind Watts’ rhythmic forcefulness is nothing short of a spiritual awakening. “We Bop!” is a colorfully striking, melodic tune that focuses on Cary’s rich, multilayered chord progressions and Watt’s tenacity. The rhythm section of Cary, Reeves and Watts lights up each track, particularly gems like “NATO,” a bebop-driven tune written for Reeves that again showcases another of Hanahan’s spitf ire solos, ending with invigorating percussive work by Watts and special guest percussionist Bobby Allende. There’s plenty of dynamic music on Among Giants to demonstrate that Hanahan is a prolific new voice in jazz.
Veronica Johnson (DownBeat)
