Noah Preminger

Before the Rain (PM 2145)

Before the Rain View larger

Before the Rain

Noah Preminger

Palmetto

753957214524

PMT 124412

PM 2145

JAZZ

1

Before the Rain

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CD 14,99 €

4 STARS JAZZWISE MAGAZINE, april 2011

A Thoughtful Tenor Emerges : Noah Preminger's "Before the Rain"on Palmetto Records

On Before the Rain, tenor saxophonist-composer Noah Preminger makes it clear that his widely praised debut album, Dry Bridge Road, was no fluke. This debut for Palmetto Records, is marked by the same sense of adventure and exploration, but even greater lyricism, compositional depth, and group interplay. Working with familiar associates, pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist John Hebert, and drummer Matt Wilson, Preminger opts for an album of mostly ballad-tempo performances that give everyone in the band the opportunity to delve into some highly nuanced solo and ensemble playing. An album of ballads is not what one usually expects from a young player on his second release. But by defying expectations, Preminger has created one of the most powerfully beautiful discs of the year.

Preminger s recording debut, Dry Bridge Road (Nowt Records) was one of the most widely hailed albums of 2008, earning a Best Debut of the Year nod from by Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll, and Top 10 album of the year honors in more than a dozen other publications, including JazzTimes, The Nation, and Stereophile. 'Preminger seems to have arrived on the scene fully formed, with incisive musical instincts, a distinctive personal sound, and an ability to write great tunes' enthused Jazz Review. Since moving to New York after graduating from New England Conservatory in 2008, Preminger has become a regular fixture in the city s clubs. He appears regularly with Cecil McBee's Transcend quartet, the John McNeil Group, and the Rob Garcia quartet.

Features:
Noah Preminger
Frank Kimbrough
John Hebert
Matt Wilson



Before the Rain - Review from Allaboutjazz.com:

In 2008, then-21 year old tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger issued his debut CD Dry Bridge Road, one that made much of an impression. Fresh out of the New England Conservatory, Dry Bridge Road racked up recognition from publications like Jazztimes, Jazz Review and the Village Voice, where it won the Jazz Critics' Poll Best Debut Of The Year. Now twenty-four, Preminger has followed up with Before The Rain, an album where he astutely avoids the dreaded sophomore slump. Having spent the intervening years getting himself acclimated to the tussle and bustle of New York's vibrant jazz scene, the young tenor specialist has spent his time playing with such names as Cecil McBee and John McNeil in addition to leading his own group. Informed now not just with a good formal education, Preminger brings meaningful experience as a bandleader, composer and performer to Before The Rain.

Preminger put together a quartet for this record that can only be called top notch when there's the involvement of pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist John Hebert and drummer Matt Wilson. For Before The Rain, Preminger offers up a program of either tender ballads or Ornette-styled harmolodics. Preminger's style of sax lends itself especially well to the ballads, his deceptive sweet, delicate style greets close listeners with a great deal of complex, purposeful playing that throws off echoes of great tenormen from Hawkins to Webster to Lovano. The standard “Until The Real Thing Comes Along" displays those charms especially well; he caresses the melody, adding touches to it here and there to put his personal stamp on the tune that signals everyone this kid is well on his way to the elite club of tenor players.

When he steps “outside" he brings the same composed, laconic manner to these songs as he does for the ballads. “Quickening," “Abreaction," “K," and “Toy Dance" all fall into this avant-garde category, but while there might be some dissonance, there's no real abrasiveness that bumps up sharply against the ears. Kimbrough's “Quickening" is perhaps the most notable of the batch, for having a strongly defined theme that ignores time keeping entirely, and the astute soloing by Prminger, Kimbrough and Hebert. “Toy Dance" pays homage to Coleman more directly, since it's one of his songs, and the ensemble does a fine job with it: Kimbrough drops sparse chords at strategic points, Hebert maintains Ornette's mysterious melody while clamping down on a groove and Preminger is left free to ruminate, which he does with a vast amount of maturity and awareness. On this and one the other three “avant" tracks, Wilson ex