Noah Baerman - Live at the Side Door (live) (2024) [Hi-Res]

RMI Records is proud to announce the release of pianist Noah Baerman’s twelfth album as a bandleader, Live at the Side Door, featuring bassist Henry Lugo and drummer Otis Brown III.

This recording came about unassumingly in October, 2022 as Baerman and his trio performed at the hallowed Side Door Jazz Club, Ken Kitchings’s establishment in Old Lyme, CT. Joining him on bass was Henry Lugo his closest collaborator for over twenty years. Baerman had been a fan of drummer Otis Brown III’s playing since hearing him with Ron Blake in the early 2000s, but while they had become friends in the meantime, this represented only their third time playing together and the first in nearly a decade. After a short rehearsal, they hit the stage and played with sensitivity and abandon for a packed house, an experience that Baerman relishes given the ongoing physical challenges of living with EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome).

“In the moment, I was oblivious to how much care Nick (Sexton, engineer) was taking beyond beyond basic sound capture for the livestream,” says Baerman, “and therefore I was blissfully unaware that the gig was doubling as a potential recording session and free of all the self-consciousness that musicians often have to combat in a studio environment.” Liberated to be in the moment and buoyed by the support of an enthusiastic audience, he and the trio felt particularly uninhibited throughout the evening. As the final applause died down, Kitchings suggested that they had a record on their hands, a statement that proved prophetic.

The program features reinterpretations of several Baerman compositions from previous recordings. The album opens with “Home,” a tribute to his daughters and more generally to foster and adoptive parenting. Recorded as a ballad on his 2011 solo piano release Turtle Steps, the tune is interpreted here with a bouncy groove reminiscent of Ahmad Jamal’s iconic arrangement of “Poinciana.” They also reinterpret his soulful ballad from the same album, “Since the Blues Walked In,” composed in 1994 with the fantasy of having it sung by Whitney Houston, here featuring an extended solo by Lugo. We also hear the third recording of the evocative slow waltz “The Healer,” rendered here with particular sensitivity.

Meanwhile, the trio interprets three jazz classics. Two of these come from the Duke Ellington songbook, a medley of compositions previously recorded by Baerman and Lugo on Alter Ego, the duo album they were celebrating on this evening at the Side Door. Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” is taken at a burning tempo, introduced by an epic solo by Brown, and it flows into a meditative exploration of the ballad “Prelude to a Kiss.” This performance also celebrated the tenth anniversary of Baerman’s founding of the nonprofit Resonant Motion, of which RMI Records is a subsidiary. His tireless social justice work is cheekily referenced through the choice of Thelonious Monk’s “Wee See,” through which the trio romps energetically and interactively.

The program ends with the hard-swinging “Puddin’ Pie,” a brand new composition of Baerman’s with origins both lighthearted and philosophical. Those who have attended Baerman’s performances know that his compositions are often contextualized with extensive spoken comments. While this evening was no different, the decision was made to let the music speak for itself throughout. Grateful to still be performing at age 50 in spite of EDS, Baerman is proud of this music and looking forward to sharing more ideas with words and notes in the years to come.

Noah Baerman - piano
Henry Lugo - bass
Otis Brown III - drums

Tracklist:
1.01 - Noah Baerman - Home (live) (4:45)
1.02 - Noah Baerman - Since the Blues Walked In (live) (8:53)
1.03 - Noah Baerman - We See (live) (7:33)
1.04 - Noah Baerman - The Healer (live) (6:10)
1.05 - Noah Baerman - Caravan (live) (9:48)
1.06 - Noah Baerman - Prelude to a Kiss (live) (7:03)
1.07 - Noah Baerman - Puddin' Pie (live) (9:15)