Eric Jacobson: Heading Home

Trumpeter Eric Jacobson has settled in on the Chicago club scene, making musical alliances along the way that include the very top tier of that talent rich scene. For his latest venture into the studio, he employs the talents of master tenorist Geof Bradfield, Chicago first call bassist Dennis Carroll and the always swinging George Fludas on drums. At first glance, this session looks like a cannot miss proposition. After one listen, that supposition becomes objective fact, as the Milwaukee based trumpeter hits it out of the park with Heading Home (Origin, 2024). Simply put, the album is a collection of well written vehicles for a classic jazz quintet playing at the highest level in the post-bop tradition.

Added to the mix is New York pianist Bruce Barth, another musician with whom Jacobson has developed a well grounded musical rapport. Barth's playing is central, most notably when comping, leaving harmonic traces for his bandmates to latch onto and take somewhere new. His sparkling solos are melody tinged and highly emotive, an elemental trait of the entire quintet.

The eight original compositions offered by Jacobson provide an array of rhythmic and harmonic variations for the musicians to work through. The opener, "Survival," is a hard charging swinger launched at breakneck speed, pushed and directed by Fludas behind the kit. Jacobson, whose sound is often described as "warm,"or "elegant," attacks the changes more in the dynamic range of the early bop playing of Dizzy Gillespie or Fats Navarro. Comps aside, the band opens the door explosively for what is to come on the remaining seven tracks.

"Three of a Kind" brings out that warm and elegant side of Jacobson's playing, as well as the emotive unity of the rhythm section. Fludas' intricate cymbal work and Barth's orchestral sense of harmony pervades the overall vibe of the tune. Barth's solo is a clear view of his genius, working the melody from the inside out in melodic, colorful fashion.

While the band can clearly swing and find any particular groove it chooses, the ballad is always the canvas with which beauty can be fully illuminated, or thoroughly disguised. It is an emotional state all its own, beautifully personified by Jacobson's "My Love For Amy." His playing on the piece is very visual, with a measure of restraint. Barth's solo flows directly from Jacobson's melodically, without pause. It is always a good sign when the ballad is one of the truly memorable moments of a jazz recording. Jacobson's passionate vulnerability, as a composer and trumpeter on this piece, is a clear sign of his special feeling for this melody.

Each tune on the album carries a different groove, but all of them swing in some shape or form, creating ample space for interpretive playing. That in itself is cause for celebration in current times, but to play them with such emotional honesty and virtuosity is truly a joy to hear. On "You're Alright, the World's All Wrong," we hear Bradfield amble gracefully over the changes that Jacobson bops and weaves through. Bradfield smoothly enters his solo on the title track, snarling and biting along the way. Jacobson's response is busier, with a proper dose of the blues accenting his lines. The two are not only a formidable front line in terms of pure talent, but in their ability to connect conversationally as well.

Heading Home comes off as a late night set at a small club somewhere in Chicago. The music is just too tight, too swinging, the musicians playing in such a zone and unhinged—it is time to get home, but it is imposible to leave the club until the end of the set. This is what music is supposed to do, and it will be wiser for the wear in the end. This record can take the listener there, wherever one happens to be.

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