Ted Chubb: Live at The Statuary

Trumpeter, composer and educator Ted Chubb leads a blue-chip quintet on Live at The Statuary, recorded during four concert sessions in March 2025 at the historic Jersey City, New Jersey, site that Chubb co-owns with his wife, Rachel Ryll. This is wall-to-wall hard bop jazz wherein Chubb and his front-line partner, alto saxophonist Bruce Williams, tread an undeviating straight-ahead path, one that their audience seems to appreciate.

These concerts, however, are far more sedate than exciting, and represent a missed opportunity (several, in fact) to present the group at its best—as, for example, on the opening number, Chubb's brisk and shining "SBB Bounce." A truly impressive start, but listeners will have to linger awhile for a facsimile of that engaging number. Instead, they will encounter a series of mostly decent yet less-than-exciting themes (most written by Chubb) that generally lack the intensity or emotion of "SBB," which should be the quintet's strongest suit.

There is one more burner on the menu, Chubb's bustling "Expat," which serves as another reminder of the group's ability to swing hard and often. After that, however, the tempo slows and the intensity wanes as the group focuses on decorum rather than fervor. While they do that well enough, one cannot help wishing for more of the brio that animated "SBB Bounce" or "Expat," even though the quintet settles into an amiable and pleasing groove (and deliver some of their most persuasive solos) on John Lewis' "Django."

Although Chubb and Williams share much of the melodic workload, they could not carry out their assignments without strong support from the rhythm section, which consists of pianist Oscar Perez (Fender Rhodes on several numbers), bassist Tom DiCarlo and drummer Jerome Jennings who never once hang them out to dry. In sum, a respectable and well-played concert date that could have benefited from a stronger dose of vim and vigor.