By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Meridies
Origin Records always finds
promising new jazz musicians; pianist Dan Cray, one of the youngest to come
along in awhile, is the most recent example. He’s in his mid 30s,
graduated from Chicago’s Northwestern University in 1999, and currently is
working on a master’s degree at New York University, where he’s also a member
of the faculty. He was a finalist in both the 2003 Monterey Jazz Festival
Solo Piano Competition and the 2004 American Pianists Association Cole Porter
Fellowship.
For Meridies, his fifth album, he added tenor saxman Noah
Preminger to his basic trio compatriots: bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Mark
Ferber. I love jazz trios, but the addition of another instrumentalist
always adds value to the group; the associated arrangements are more complex,
and the interplay among the artists tells you more about their capabilities,
than is revealed in melodic lines and solos.
Cray is an excellent
composer, in addition to his talents as an artist and arranger. He wrote six
of these eight tracks; the exceptions are Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” and Joe Henderson’s “Serenity.” The introductory chords of “Smile,” the album opener, give clear evidence that Cray’s
arrangements lean toward a level of imagination and complexity that go beyond
the basic melody. “Smile” is a “simple” tune that can
be repeated after a single hearing, but this group’s interpretation makes much more out of it.
The same can be said of the
rest of the menu. The observation that “these artists think together” certainly
isn’t original, but it’s certainly true here. Two tracks are done as
ballads; the rest are mid-tempo. Most importantly, all of them swing
nicely.
I love the sound that Preminger
gets from his tenor sax; it’s smooth and warm, and reminiscent of Warne Marsh and
Stan Getz. The piano, bass and drums work together effectively and
beautifully.
I expect to hear a
lot more from Mr. Cray and his associates.
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