From What I Recall

4-STARS After occasional collaborations lasting a decade, pianist Simona Premazzi and saxophonist Kyle Nasser decided three years ago to launch this combo, completed with double bass player Noah Garabedian and drummer Jay Sawyer. Frequent performances in New York City clubs and some tours have strengthened the cohesion of the group that now releases its first album.

Although she has lived and worked in New York since 2004, the jazz public—especially Italian—knows Simona Premazzi well, who studied in Milan at the CPM Music Institute with Franco D'Andrea and Massimo Colombo and at the civic courses of Enrico Intra and Franco Cerri. The professional maturation took place in the long association with Greg Osby, then with Jeremy Pelt and in various other collaborations. The 2021 solo piano debut, Wave in Gravity, his fifth album as a leader, made a considerable impression.

Settled in New York in 2010, after graduating from Berklee College and prestigious collaborations, Nasser recorded his debut as a leader five years later (Restive Soul) which was followed by the adventurous Persistent Fancy (Ropeadope 2018), in a sextet of talented peers.

From What I Recall consists of eleven original compositions (seven by Nasser and four by Premazzi) developed under the banner of a contemporary mainstream, rich in rhythmic contrasts, which alternates enthralling up tempo with clear melodies, in close relationships between all partners. What is most striking in this music is the lively collective tension, characterized by tight interchanges that coexist with captivating melodic designs.

Kyle Nasser expresses himself with a persuasive timbre and a phrasing capable of both intense groove and sober lyricism. Simona Premazzi is also the protagonist when she accompanies, with the depth of her eloquence and the pressing percussive momentum.

A throbbing and imaginative jazz, which knows how to look at tradition with respect, without remaining subjugated.

Album of the week.