Brad Goode: Nature Boy

Trumpeter Brad Goode marks his return to Delmark Records with Nature Boy, a hard-blowing quartet session featuring sympathetic support from pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Johannes Weidenmuller and drummer Todd Reid. A well-conceived program of standards and originals, the disc is a tremendous showcase for Goode's ever-evolving, fresh approach to performing and composing.

Goode's command of the trumpet allows for plenty of risk-taking moments, drenched with technical astonishment and raw emotion. With an abundance of melodic ideas, the Chicago native walks a musical tightrope, creating a rush of improvised suspense. His free-flowing approach, most notably on "I Remember You and "No Idea, is playful and refreshingly unsentimental.

A highlight of the disc is Goode's frenetic composition "Nightmare of the Mechanized World. The multi-directional, unpredictable piece moves at an unrelenting pace, and features inspired group interplay.

Jenkins, who seems to anticipate Goode's every move, has a penchant for spinning well-developed, conversational yarns in his solos. His theme and variation approach on "So Beats My Heart for You is a high-mark of the session. Weidenmuller is a commanding bassist who supports tirelessly and solos with assuredness. His stand-out lyricism is heartily pronounced on "Just in Time and "It's 4 a.m. Reid, a powerhouse of a drummer, cuts loose on Eddie Harris' "Infrapolations and Cole Porter's "All Through the Night.

Nature Boy emphasizes everything genuine going on in jazz today. The music takes into account past innovations with modern sensibilities. Goode and company are performing at an incomparable level, at once virtuosic and innovative.