Travels - Downbeat

NoahPremingerIntuitiveLeaderSam RoblesThe term “old soul” seems to be the defaultdescription when saxophonist NoahPreminger’s elders discuss his tonal personality.Consider, for example, pianist FrankKimbrough’s account of Preminger’s comportmentat the 2007 recording session that producedhis eclectic debut, Dry Bridge Road(Nowt). Fresh out of New England Conservatory,Preminger was 21 at the time.“I thought this kid would be nervous, and we’dhave to do a bunch of takes,” Kimbrough recalled.“What blew us all away is that from the first notehe was just one of us, remarkably self-assuredwithout being cocky. He got the job done, and hisplaying was mature.”Kimbrough spoke the day before he and thetenorist, now 26, would record a duet collaboration.“With Noah, everything is about processas opposed to product, which is how somany young musicians think,” he said, referencingPreminger’s manner when leading therecording sessions for his 2011 Palmetto albumBefore The Rain—a quartet project that includedKimbrough, bassist John Hébert and drummerMatt Wilson. “We called tunes and recordedthe whole thing with no rehearsal in three-and-ahalfhours. I don’t like that science-projecty shitwhere you rehearse a lot and it’s too complicatedto wrap your head around.”On Preminger’s new Palmetto release,Haymaker—recorded with guitarist Ben Monder,bassist Matt Pavolka and drummer ColinStranahan—the proceedings diverge from theopen, freebop-to-floaty feel of Before The Rain,incorporating poppish melodies, rockish straighteighthbeats, soaring jams, odd-metered vampsand virtuosic solo digressions by tenor and guitar.Nonetheless, the ensemble, bolstered by aprior European tour with stops in Switzerland andSpain, follows Preminger’s relaxed approach.“This is New York and everybody can play,”Preminger remarked. “There’s no ego bullshit;just ‘Let’s go do our thing.’ It’s all about intuition.That’s how it should be.”The title track was inspired by Preminger’sformer boxing coach at the Manhattan gymwhere he trained for several years. WhenPreminger hit a sparring partner with a rightcross that propelled him across the ring, hiscoach said, “You hit him with a fuckin’ haymaker,man!” Shortly thereafter, the coach died of ananeurysm. “At the funeral,” Preminger said, “hisson told me that his dad had talked about the haymakerand me on his deathbed.”Preminger perceives no incongruity betweenhis love of adrenalin-inducing activity—he alsoskydives and skis—and the reflective quality ofhis caress-all-the-notes approach to saxophoneexpression. “Boxing is a great sport,” he said.“It teaches patience and respect and composureand breathing. I feel I need to live a full life andincorporate my experiences in music. I prefer toplay grittier, dirtier stuff, and I want to have fun.”Toward that end, Preminger said, he was preparingto launch a collaborative Afrobeat band thatfeatures big-sound tenorist Drew Sayers, a classmateof his at New England Conservatory andWilliam H. Hall High School in West Hartford,Conn. A native of rural Canton, Preminger “grewup on 25 acres with a couple of dogs” and startedplaying music as a child. He attended jazz campwith Dave Liebman at 12, and later enrolled atHall at the invitation of the school’s band director.“I made more money at Hall than I have sinceI graduated there,” Preminger said, mentioning$1,000 paychecks for gigs at local galas. “I wasaround guys who could really play and kick myass.” There was intellectual growth, if less remunerativework, in Boston during his NEC years.Preminger counts faculty members Allan Chase,Jerry Bergonzi and Frank Carlberg as consequentialmentors, as were (following his 2007 move toNew York) elders Cecil McBee, who employedhim, and Billy Hart, whose skills he has retainedon several occasions.Although Preminger gripes about New Yorkeconomics and quality of life, he intends to remainin Brooklyn and to have fun. “I pick people whosecompany I enjoy,” he said. “If you happen to likeassholes, go hang out with them.” —Ted PankenJUNE 2013 DOWNBEAT 21