JAKE NOBLE

LETTING GO OF A DREAM

Independent Label

Jake Noble, bass/composer; Mike Clement, guitar; Seth Collins, piano; Tanner Guss, drums. Autumn Dominguez, alto saxophone.

Based in New Orleans, Jake Noble is a bassist and composer.  This is his debut album.  It is a musical story of his journey of self-discovery in the midst of our overwhelmingly digitized society.

The ensemble opens with “What Could Have Been,” a song inspired by the Bill Evans composition, “Time Remembered.”  The thing about using the chord changes of another composer’s work to create something of your own, you have to change the melody to make it different.  Seth Collins on piano does change the complexion of the Evans tune with his own 88-key approach and Jake Noble is ever present and powerful on bass, beneath the piano solo. Then Jake steps into the spotlight to improvise on the theme. However, the Dominguez alto saxophone sounds very similar to the Bill Evans tune. The melody is just performed at a faster pace.  Tanner Guss is powerful on drums during this arrangement, especially as it crescendos and grows.

Noble opens the tune “The Push Factor” on double bass, setting the groove and tempo.  The saxophone of Autumn Dominguez seems extremely long.  Does that mean I lost interest? The time spent could have been split up with other group members.  Also, the engineer should have brought Jake Noble’s bass up louder in the mix.  Why is it so low after that long, loud solo by the saxophone? Mixing a product properly is so important.

“Acceptance of the Journey” was written to express the sudden changes life sometimes throws your way when you least expect it.  The production seems way too busy, but perhaps that was the composer/ arranger’s intention.

Noble explained why he composed this song.  “I like to think about how we go about living our lives with everything going according to plan and then – bam!  All of a sudden something or someone comes into our life and changes its trajectory in a single moment.”

That is so true!  “Farewell to the Kid from Spring” allows the listener to hear Jake Noble on his bass with just Seth Collins on piano.  Noble says he composed this song while wishing for a simpler time and place in the Arkansas wilderness, away from the noisy city.  Once again, the bass is mixed too low in the track.  After all, this is the bass player’s album, and his instrument should be at least even in the mix with the other instruments.  “On the Up and Up” is a great tune, that swings briskly. But once again, Dominguez takes all the air out the tune with that lengthy solo. It was a relief to hear the piano improvise on the theme.

Clearly, these are young, developing players who are working on their craft. This song, “On the Up and Up” is one of my favorites. Also, I enjoyed the tasty guitar work of Mike Clement on the composition, “Theme for a New Age.”

Here is a fledgling bassist and composer, seeking a place in the busy, competitive world of jazz.  I hear Jake Noble’s potential as both a musician and a jazz composer.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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