Jeremy Pelt - Woven - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jazz trumpeter, composer and author Jeremy Pelt has certainly never shied away from themed albums so one might expect something cinematic from the enigmatically-titled Soundtrack. However, as Pelt himself explains, InchI've certainly done plenty of concept albums, but in this case there's nothing I'm on a soapbox about. It's been a tough time for all of us, so let's not worry about sending messages for a minute. Here we are, playing some songs and having some fun.Inch Having fun the band may be but along the way they make some compelling jazz weaving a beguiling tapestry of kaleidoscopic colors with Pelt's sultry and communicative trumpet to the fore surrounded by Chien Chien Lu's hypnotic vibraphone and pianist Victor Gould's subtle splashes of the Fender Rhodes. The inclusion of Brittany Anjou on Moog synthesizer and the rarely-heard Mellotron may imply a real electronica aspect present on the recording but, quite to the contrary, Pelt uses them sparingly and incorporates them brilliantly into the group's tonal palette. Their appearance does occasionally bring a certain 70s independent jazz vibe to the proceedings but they far from define the sound of the group. Anne Drummond's silvery flute on two tracks adds yet another dimension to the already wide spectrum of colors on this latest album in the discography of the sometimes surprising but always inspired Jeremy Pelt.

Heralded for years as one of the rising stars in jazz, Jeremy Pelt has earned accolades for his staggering virtuosity, which has elicited comparisons to trumpet icons like Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard, as well as for his studious, cerebral approach to the music. While he's clearly the man in charge here, Soul is very much a band-focused , with all five members of the group heard distinctively and insistently throughout.

Throughout the sixties, Mickey Murray made a name for himself as a hard working entertainer viewed by many as a cross between James Brown and Otis Redding. He held a regular gig with Dyke and The Blazers on Broadway in NYC, toured with Wilson Pickett and The Staple Singers, and also performed sporadically with the queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. All of his hard work finally paid off (though not financially) when he recorded his first single, InchShout BamalamaInch in late 1967. It sold a million copies! In 1969 Murray was signed to King Records. The tag was preparing for the inevitable loss of James Brown. Since they obviously couldn't afford to sign another act of Brown's caliber, they decided to develop their own. Mickey was groomed by the tag to become their next superstar act. He recorded People Are Together and they prepared to it in 1970 on their Federal Records imprint. They chose the title track as the lead single. The response from most of the black DJs they relied on for support was that they wouldn't play the song. Most of them feared that the song was far too racially provocative for a developing artist. In fact, many black DJs said they were concerned they'd lose their job if they played the track. It didn't take long at all for King to abandon the . According to Murray, the record may have never actually been formally released in stores.