Noah Preminger: Ballads (Chill Tone CT0003CD)
New York based tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger has made over 20 albums. Often known for his fiery delivery, here he adds a different perspective to his diverse discography. It echoes the example set by Coltrane when he unveiled a gear-change to a more lyrical, gentler side in his similarly titled record of 1963.
Preminger is accompanied by Julian Shore on piano, Kim Cass bass and Allan Mednard on drums.They open with a rendition of a rarely played Stan Getz tune, Stan’s Mood, and close with George and Ira Gershwin’s 1926 standard Someone To Watch Over Me. In between are four originals composed by Preminger and an excellent, unexpected cover of Mark Kozelek’s Carry Me Ohio.
Lost love, old friendships and reflection permeate this thoughtful album. Preminger’s breathy and expressive tone is totally mesmerising and sound quality throughout is superb. Full tracklist and album details are here.
Ingrid Laubrock: Purposing The Air (Pyroclastic Records PR 38/39)
German multi-saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock is based in Brooklyn. She’s worked with Anthony Braxton, Kris Davis, Tim Berne, Mary Halvorson and Myra Melford amongst many others. She also plays in a duo with American drummer-husband, Tom Rainey.
I first saw her perform 10 years ago at North Sea Jazz in the quartet Perch Hen Brock & Rain. I saw her again a few months later at the A-Trane, Berlin where she accompanied pianist Aki Takasi and then again with Monica Vasconcelos’s band at Berlin Jazz Festival in 2017. Each time Laubrock proved to be a highly impressive musician and I was looking forward to hearing her new double disc. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find she doesn’t actually play on it.
Instead, she’s assembled four duos who interpret a series of her compositions based on a poem by Erica Hunt titled Mood Librarian – A Poem In Koan. For those perhaps unfamiliiar with the term, a koan is a paradoxical or nonsensical statement used by Zen Buddhists to challenge logical thinking and encourage insight. In Hunt’s poem each koan is a two or three-line fragment of verse. There are 60 in total and Laubrock has converted them into miniature pieces ranging in length from 30 seconds to just over three minutes.
The pieces are evenly divided between the duos: vocalist Fay Victor with cellist Mariel Roberts; singer Sara Serpa with pianist Matt Mitchell; singer Theo Bleckmann with guitarist Ben Monder and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway with violinist Ari Streisfeld.
The outcome is invariably abstract and challenging to listen to. I couldn’t detect any jazz or indeed any real melody throughout the whole 120 minutes – the instruments are deployed to emit sounds, often ethereal or distorted, rather than music. Laubrock has clearly put a lot of effort into this work and many will find interest in it but sadly it’s not my cup of tea. Sound samples of the koans, tracklist and album details are available here.
Eric Scott Reed: Out Late (Smoke Sessions Record SSR-2501)
The Philadelphia-born pianist known to many as Eric Reed has recently taken to using his middle name. He came to public attention during his time with Wynton Marsalis in the 90s and later for his work with Christian McBride’s band, Inside Straight. Reed’s also played with Buddy Collette, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Edwin Hawkins and Quincy Jones amongst others. Ahmad Jamal described him as one of his “very favourite pianists”.
Reed has released 30 albums as leader. This latest venture is a mix of straightahead and contemporary jazz. He’s accompanied on piano by Nicholas Payton trumpet, Eric Alexander tenor sax, Peter Washington bass and Joe Farnsworth drums. The quintet recorded the album together in one room – no headphones or overdubbing – just like the old days. Every track is a first take and in Reed’s words, the energy and rawness is all there.
The album’s title refers to late-night city life. It’s also a pun on the fact that Reed, age 54, recently came out as bisexual. All seven compositions are penned by the pianist. You can sample one of them, Glow, here and you can find the tracklist and further info on Reed’s bandcamp site.
