It is difficult to understand the message and meaning of music the further away you are from the points of reference for these messages. And it becomes even more difficult the more complex, atonal, and less classically narrative the compositions are. While Smetana's Moldau is relatively easy to understand thanks to its use of familiar themes, jazz is a completely different story.
With his latest album, Our Community Will Not Be Erased, New York jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelts wants to positively reinforce the social realities that “in this United States force you to constantly question the virtues and contributions of your own community, if only for the sake of positive reinforcement.”
But what are the social realities in the US? And where exactly in the US? Or is it essentially the same everywhere, from the East Coast to the Rust Belt and the endless expanses of wheat monocultures to the West Coast? That's hard to judge. It's much easier to see whether Pelt “reconciles cultural heritage and musical innovation” for his project.
In nine tracks and just under 42 minutes, Pelt mixes traditional Bob elements, ballads, and electronics, integrating muted trumpet, crisp high 18" bass drum, double bass, and piano with keyboards, and has recruited Lenny White on drums and Buster Williams on bass, the parent generation of the 1940s, for the rhythm section, which Pelt, Orrin Evans on piano, and Lasse Corson on keyboards complement as the children of the 1970s.
This lineup creates a certain dynamic in itself, simply in terms of understanding of tradition, wealth of experience, jazz genre played, and self-identification within the network of blue notes. The result?
A sound experience. The flow of the music is remarkable. Father and Sons beguile with a very atmospheric mood, which Manifesto quickly overturns in nimble Bob tradition. The March Into Resilience, with its classical sound, acts as a bulwark against simplification and streamlining. This, in turn, is countered by Brothas on the Corner with keyboards that could well open a drum ‘n’ bass piece, but then don't. Our Mothers Nature swings in 3/4 time from the speakers. Fathers And Daughters unfolds the dialogue between a muted, deep trumpet and a conscientious, gentle bass solo. And so it continues – colorful, classic, surprising.
What is very impressive is the high acoustic quality of the recording. The stage is wide and open, almost concert-like. Nevertheless, the instruments are consistently tangible, authentic, and very detailed. There is no lack of dynamics or musicality. And the balance is so well-adjusted that every piece is a pure listening pleasure.
Our Community Will Not Be Erased by Jeremy Pelt is once again well worth listening to, for traditionalists and explorers alike. But it's best to be both. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)
Jeremy Pelt,trumpet
Orrin Evans, piano
Buster Williams, bass
Lenny White, drums
Lasse Corson, keyboards (tracks 2, 5 and 6)
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on September 05, 2025
Engineered by Maureen Sickler
Mixed by Aaron Nevezie, The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Mastered by David Darlington, Bass Hit Studio, New York, NY
Photo: ©Eva Kapanadze