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| Noah Preminger's Meditations on Freedom Dry Bridge Records 005 |
From the opening plaintive notes of the first track of his
new album Meditations on Freedom- Bob
Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in Their Game”- tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger sets the
stage for an entire album of social commentary. At the same time, Preminger is reminding
us-do not despair, we have been here before. Dedicated to the spirit of vigilance,
peaceful dissention and hope, Preminger found his disappointment in the
direction of his country’s politics as an igniting force in his own creative
spirit. He recorded this suite of songs on December 17th, just forty-three
days after the election, in a rush to declare his musical thoughts on the
concept of freedom and what it has meant and continues to mean to an artist.
The songs are carefully chosen for their thematic
consistency, with “Only a Pawn in Their Game” containing the darkest indictment
of societal dysfunction. Dylan’s controversial conspiratorial call out of the
systematic brainwashing of poor whites toward Blacks, resulting in the murder
of Medgar Evers. The two horns of Preminger on tenor and Jason Palmer on
trumpet cry out, almost in a somber dirge to the fallen Civil rights leader.
When bassist Kim Cass and drummer Ian Froman enter the song, it is to lend a
loosely swaying backdrop over which Preminger and then Palmer explore their own
personal sentiments that the music inspires.
Bruce Hornsby’s “Just the Way It Is,” explored and condemned
the moral courage of those who decided that racial injustice was something that
“Just is the way it is,” and accepted the idea that “some things will never
change.” Preminger and Palmer join in a unison statement of the melody before
the saxophonist detours to what seems like a free exchange of ideas, stated first
by Preminger and responded to in kind by drummer Froman. Then Palmer takes his with
an equally liberated cross conversation, this time with bassist Cass, with Froman
also contributing to the mix. The entire group reprises the melody at the coda.
The Sam Cooke classic “A Change is Gonna Come” maybe the
most moving song on the album. The slow, deliberately soulful rendering finds
Preminger’s tenor at its most inspirational, as Cass’s bass walks the line. With
a beautiful tone on his tenor, Preminger moves along the changes with a deep
sense of purpose. Palmer’s trumpet solo is equally as emotional with his prudent
use of slurs and his succinct use of the mid register of his horn.
The remaining six tracks are all Preminger original
compositions, with the exception of the hopeful George Harrison tune “Give Me
Love,” which the group performs to an almost Caribbean Cha cha tempo. As the
thirty-year old composer states his objective when composing instrumental music
“is to heighten emotions.” With titles
like “We Have a Dream.” “Mother Earth,” “Women’s March,” “The 99 Percent” and “Broken
Treaties” we can see the man has very specific ideas that he wants to portray
with his music. The group works together like a unified whole. On “We Have a
Dream,” Cass’s nimble bass opening, Palmer’s restrained high register trumpet as
juxta posed against Preminger’s rich, Rollin-esque tenor make for some
beautiful ensemble music. On “Mother
Earth” we again open with a Cass bass intro that leads to the front line of
Palmer and Preminger playing off each other harmonically on a theme. It’s the
deliberate tones that strike you here. The two horns each finding their own way
within the structure of the tune. Preminger’s solo is an exploratory reach, but
a calm, measured approach. Froman gets an opportunity to lay down some
interesting fills over Cass’s ostinato bass line before Palmer enters exploring
the possibilities of his trumpet with exquisite control and a total lack of
bombast. “Women’s March” brings attention to an important, spontaneous
development in modern day organized protest. Appropriately Preminger’s saxophone
solos is frenetic and excitable, as I’m sure the organizers of the March were.
Palmer’s trumpet solo is more organized in its approach using some repeated
linearity. The message; spontaneity can
lead to fruitful action, hopefully this movement will be able to build upon its
first surprising success. “The 99 Percent” is a reference to the majority of the
electorate, those who have not participated in the upwardly mobile prospects of
the one percenters. The two horns state a mournful opening that to my ears is
filled with despair and longing. As a working musician, Preminger knows all too
well the vagaries of the changing economic climate as it relates to job
compression, technological dislocation and the devaluation of intellectual
property (like the work of artists, musicians and writers). Hopefully awareness will lead to improvement
in the prospects for all.
The final track is titled “Broken Treaties.” With the Dakota Pipeline in the news, and its
threat to Indian water supplies, the music is a reminder of the many failings
we have allowed to happen, often under the guise of economic profit and job
creation. The musicians have a dialogue that often seem like two parties speaking
in two different languages, only coming together at the hopeful ending when
their voices are more in harmony.
I realize that my take on this music is only one man’s
opinion and perhaps the artist had something completely different in mind when
he went into the studio. It really doesn’t matter. If we are inspired by the
music to recognize its relevant and timely topics, then Meditations on Freedom has artully heightened our emotions and
stirred our imaginations and Noah Preminger should be applauded for his earnest
effort.
