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Russ Johnson, Christian McBride and Noah Preminger
Excellent recent albums from Russ Johnson and Christian McBride together with a focus on Noah Preminger lead a packed show with a mix a brand new releases and music from the archives. Playlist Russ Johnson, Rob Clearfield, Matt Ulery, Jon Deitemyer “Serpent Kane" from Headlands (Woolgathering Records) 00:00 Christian McBride “Walkin' Funny" from Christian McBride's New Jawn (Mack Avenue Records) 06:59 Bob Gluck “Spirit Unleashed" from Infinite Spirit Revisiting Music of the Mwandishi Band (FMR Records) 10:38 ...
read moreDead Composers Club: The Chopin Project
Saxophonist Noah Preminger has a reputation for exploring various genres outside jazz, like protest music and old-time delta blues. He has now formed a group called Dead Composers Club, with drummer Rob Garcia, to perform the works of various composers who are no longer with us. With Preminger's track record that could mean anybody from Duke Ellington to Leonard Cohen, but on this first effort they turn to classical composer Frederic Chopin. Playing Chopin seems to bring out ...
read moreDead Composers Club: The Chopin Project
We have a pretty clear case of truth in advertising here; this top-notch recording offers exactly what it says on the tin. With the first installment of their Dead Composers Club project, Noah Preminger and Rob Garcia pay affectionate respect to a well-known oeuvre while still keeping it a long way from predictable. Fittingly enough for a jazz combo, the focus here is on Frédéric Chopin--an outspoken yet gentle soul who placed a key emphasis on improvisation. Though he didn't ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Genuinity
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 ...
read moreNoah Preminger-Frank Carlberg: Whispers And Cries
A duo doing standards doesn't theoretically smack of originality in 2018, yet a number of present tense saxophone-piano pairings have demonstrated otherwise. Last fall, soprano maverick Sam Newsome and pianist Jean-Michel Pilc went down the rabbit hole with a good number of classics for Magic Circle (Self Produced, 2017)); around the same time, saxophone icon Dave Liebman and piano elder statesman Martial Solal presented a half-dozen gems given over to exploration during Masters In Bordeaux (Sunnyside, 2017); and now, rising ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Meditations on Freedom
Released to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump as President, the message of Saxophonist Noah Preminger's Meditations on Freedom is as direct as the music is powerful. Conceived immediately after Election Day 2016 and recorded shortly thereafter without cuts or edits, the music is a testament to both Preminger's artistic prowess and deep commitment to political engagement.The album's nine offerings present a series of potent statements on social justice, the struggle for equity, and a stark repudiation ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Meditations on Freedom
Open and civil discourse has always been a tenant of democracy. Recent political events in the U.S. have reduced that discourse to a crude, gutter-level low that has left an alienated population in its wake, marginalized and left without a strong voice. From the time of the Civil War, protest music has provided counsel for vulnerable segments of society. With Meditations on Freedom saxophonist Noah Preminger adds his voice to the ranks of Billie Holiday's “Strange Fruit" (Commodore, 1939), Charles ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Some Other Time
After several releases, tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger's uniqueness has become more evident. In large part, this curve is due to Preminger's own patient development of a creative process; part is an individual style but much of the appeal is in how he creates around the broader dynamics of his various groups. What has been consistent, from the modern post-bop/hard-bop of Dry Bridge Road (Nowt Records, 2008) through the raucous swing of Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar (Self-Produced, 2015), is ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground
Saxophonist Noah Preminger got this backwards. His latest release, Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground should have preceded the 2015 recording Pivot: Live At The 55 Bar. Same quartet of trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Kim Cass, and drummer Ian Froman. Same theme, the Delta Blues. The reverse order observation is a historical one. Where John Coltrane would record an album of shortish compositions, then take them to the Village Vanguard to expand them to album length tracks, Preminger ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
The Delta Blues, spawned from the callous conditions on Mississippi plantations and farmlands, is an artistic manifestation that creativity can overcome, survive, and thrive, amidst overwhelming situations. These sparse, rural blues, which came out of the fields so long ago, continue to influence contemporary musicians seeking a raw form of expression. Count saxophonist Noah Preminger among those who have gone back to these roots, his Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, is a re-invigoration process based on primordial ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Pivot: Live At The 55 Bar
The first thing that should be said about tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger's Pivot: Live At The 55 Bar is the extremely exciting you-are-there feeling of the recording. Recording engineer Jimmy Katz has managed to capture the sound and visceral feel of a jazz quartet in full cry with no net. Many jazz listeners can remember a performance when everything clicked and the magic happened--where the audience was as much in the groove as the players were with no space existing ...
read moreNoah Preminger: Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar
In a decidedly bold move, young tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger's first self-released album, Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar, consists of two 30-minute-plus tracks; both interpretations of tunes by bluesman Bukka White. The result? A white-knuckle modern jazz thrill ride and possibly the fastest hour you'll spend in front of the stereo this year. Listening to this disc, it's not hard to imagine Preminger thinking ..."how could i not release this?" Time melts away as one engages in Preminger's and ...
read moreGiant Steps EP 2
Episode 2 No Respect. Kim is confronted with discrimination in jazz education while working at the Jazz Elders Foundation. Bid Daddy reams Manny for booking two singers at the same time and Mickey gets no respect in the movie business. Cast Mickey Bass, Dr. Jeff Gardere, Gregory Charles Royal, Mark 'Icewater' Gross, Paul Tafoya as 'Manny', Kimberly Singh, Zari Veres Royal and Marist Veres Royal -with James Zollar -trumpet, Bobby Lavell,- tenor sax Anthony Wonsey- piano, Mark Johnson - drums and Billy Johnson - bass.
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Jazz Story
By Rafael Val
Member since: 2019
I love jazz because I love the freedom. I met guitarists Oscar Aleman and Larry Carlton. The best show I ever attended was Les Paul at Iridium Jazz Club. The first jazz record I bought was by vibraphonist Lionel Hampton.
