Ray Comiskey reviews three new releases
MARTIAL SOLAL Longitude CamJazz****
If Solal is the nearest contemporary pianist to Tatum, he takes more chances, rhythmically and harmonically, than the late virtuoso did. And, with the Moutin brothers, François (bass) and Louis (drums), Solal has two with reflexes sharp enough to follow his bewildering changes of direction. The angular Solal originals ( Slightly Bluesy, Longitude, Bizarre, vous avez dit?, Short Cutsand Monostome) support intense question-and-answer dialogues, with Solal as the witty, creative examiner and the Moutins the gifted pupils. He does something close to straight ahead, too, with a lovely ballad, Solaltitude, but perhaps his apparently boundless imagination (and wit) is best appreciated on the familiar but disarticulated Here's That Rainy Day, Tea for Twoand The Last Time I Saw Paris. The dazzle may not satisfy some, but then one man's viand is another man's poisson. Or something. www.CamJazz.com
ALAN BARNES OCTET Harlem Airshaft Woodville***
Helped by arranger Tony Faulkner's notes, Ellington fans can savour the skill with which he references, to varying degrees, these Ducal originals for Barne's octet. Bruce Adams (trumpet/flugelhorn), Andy Wood (trombone), and the reeds of Tony Coe, Barnes and Andy Panayi (doubling soprano to baritone, with flute, clarinet and bass clarinet added) give him a fine spread of voicings. He uses them well, particularly on such seldom-heard pieces as Second Line, the idealised, exotic sensuality of Fantazmand on the better known Harlem Airshaftand La Plus Belle Africaine. His and the ensemble's work (Coe is a quirkily magnificent soloist) is capably backed by the John Horler-Alec Dankworth-Mike Smith rhythm section, but what's also evident is the band's unabashed pleasure in the material before them. www.musicconnection.org.uk
NOAH PREMINGER Dry Bridge Road Nowt***
Preminger is a more than promising young tenor saxophonist whose cohorts on this recording debut reflect the esteem in which he is held. Ben Monder (guitar), Frank Kimbrough (piano), John Hebert (bass), Ted Poor (drums) and Russ Johnson (trumpet), who appear in various combinations throughout, are among New York's elite. If Preminger's debut also reflects the eclectic mix, diluted or otherwise, of his interests in jazz, pop, rock and ambient music, his tenor suggests firm jazz roots (harking back, perhaps, even to Warne Marsh), with a technical command as impressive as the ideas it serves; the unison line of Sax of a Kindwith Ben Monder is immaculately played, while Preminger's solos, particularly on Where Seagulls Flyand Blues for Steve Lacey, are assured and well conceived. Tellingly, in the group improvisations that develop, Preminger sounds thoroughly at home. www.noahpreminger.com
