Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jeremy Pelt: Face Forward, Jeremy

Jeremy Pelt: Face Forward, Jeremy

By Glenn Astarita
February 8, 2014
View read count

Track review of "Stars Are Free"

Venerable trumpeter Jeremy Pelt takes another step out of the modern jazz schema, expanding upon Water and Earth (HighNote Records, 2013) with his young band by forging an acoustic- electric jazz wonderland, swarming with colorful fabrications and capacious sonic environs. Featuring works abetted with strings, electronics, vocals and free-flight jazz-based improvisations, the program is heightened by Pelt's sparkling bop lines occasionally treated with echo and reverb processes. Moreover, the ensemble projects great depth, complemented by prudent implementations of electronics along with high-velocity breakouts, and vacillating cadences, tinted with a smattering of jazz-funk mechanisms.

The ensemble launches an electrifying groove-based vamp on "Stars Are Free." Interestingly enough, drummer Dana Hawkins unites acoustic drums and electronic drum programming, which at times, tends to sound overly busy or a bit cluttered, depending on one's preferences. But Hawkins instills a dynamic undercurrent, supporting Pelt's jazz-focused navigation of interstellar space atop the surging rhythms and Frank LoCrasto's crisp Fender Rhodes voicing and metronomic, time stamp like the metrics during the bridge. Here, the ensemble's athletic stride comes to the forefront. And Chris Smith's fluidly articulated, extended bass solo sparks additional excitement.

Pelt excels at producing a homogenized progressive and spacey jazz-fusion brew that is not overcooked, and includes a diverse mix, including a few tender vocal tracks. He doesn't intimate any revolutionary tactics but gets the job done by operating in fast- forward mode, framed with his gifted chops.

Track Listing

Personnel

Jeremy Pelt

trumpet

Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Roxy Cross: soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet; David Bryant: piano, organ, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer; Frank Locrasto: Fender Rhodes (2); Chris Smith: acoustic and electric bass; Dana Hawkins: drums, drum programming.

Album information

Title: Face Forward, Jeremy | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: HighNote Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Black Beehive
< Previous

The 6th Story
Next >

Jeremy Pelt Concerts

Oct 23 Thu

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Duc Des Lombards
Paris, France

Oct 23 Thu

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Duc Des Lombards
Paris, France

Oct 24 Fri

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Duc Des Lombards
Paris, France

Oct 24 Fri

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Duc Des Lombards
Paris, France

Feb 24 Tue

Emmet Cohen Quintet @ Evanston SPACE - Evanston, IL

Space
Evanston, IL

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.