Trump's election has not only firmed up the tendency for musicians to frame their music in a political context – Meditations on Freedom was digitally released to coincide with Trump's inauguration day. It's also triggered a second look at earlier protest-framed anthems. This album opens with Dylan's ‘Only a Pawn in their Game’, has George Harrison's ‘Give Me Love Give Me Peace on Earth’ as the penultimate track and includes Sam Cooke's ‘A Change is Gonna Come’, which was also covered by Joey DeFrancesco on his uplifting Project Freedom album. Noah Preminger's version, though, is a good deal more contemplative than De Francesco's joyous reading; more ‘what's going on?’ than ‘we'll get there some day’. Preminger's meditative vision is filtered through a sparse chord-free quartet and a clear-lined, schooled-soul aesthetic that matches the sound of his nicely rounded tenor sax. Trumpeter Jason Palmer is a spiky and thoughtful foil and with bassist Kim Cass and drummer Ian Froman equally on song, the album's vibe is tight, talented and downtown. Preminger's originals are as strong as the covers, and like them, their melodies are enhanced by warm brass harmonies and a sensitive rhythm section, while titles like ‘Mother Earth’, ‘Women's March’ and the closer ‘Broken Promises’ develop the album's focus as a ‘conversation starter’. Articulate and soulful, the album's certainly a nice listen. More than that, the streets await.