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Noah Preminger: Genuinity

By Mark Corroto
March 31, 2018
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Quite often when an ��ber-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

saxophone, tenor
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">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

trumpet
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Palmer reminds you of the

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins/

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry Quartet circa 1962-63 and the early recordings of

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter &

Lee Morgan

trumpet
1938 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">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

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Mitchell's A Pouting Grimace (Pi Recordings, 2017), along with drummer

Dan Weiss

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Weiss, a leader in his own right and a mainstay in groups led by

Rudresh Mahanthappa

saxophone, alto
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Rudresh Mahanthappa,

David Binney

saxophone, alto
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">David Binney, and

Miles Okazaki

guitar
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">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

saxophone
1909 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Young to

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane with acknowledgement to

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson and

Joe Lovano

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Lovano. In short, Preminger continues to state the case that he belongs at the table with today's blue-chip tenor players.

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Track Listing

Halfway To Hartford; The Genuine One; Mad Town ; TS And Her Spirit; AH; My Blues For You; Nashua; Walking On Eggshells; Acknowledgement.

Personnel

Noah Preminger

saxophone, tenor

Noah Preminger: tenor saxophone; Jason Palmer: trumpet; Kim Cass: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Album information

Title: Genuinity | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Criss Cross

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