BRAD GOODE
Hypnotic Suggestion

Delmark

Brad Goode is a former Chicagoan who now resides in Colorado, where he teaches at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has spent much of his career playing in Chicago, where he earned recognition for his trumpet work, both as a leader of a house band at the Green Mill, and as a sideman with artists such as Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Red Rodney, and Ira Sullivan. Largely unknown outside the Windy City, he is an excellent player, and Hypnotic Suggestion is a fine album that deserves to be heard by as wide an audience as possible.

Goode can go from Tom Harrell-esque melodic warmth to Miles minimalism to straight-out bop with seeming effortlessness. The disc starts off with Goode’s original composition from which the album takes its title. Goode states the melody, which spirals downward chromatically, leading to a rhythm section interlude in which drummer Dana Hall darts in and around the beat with roiling clouds emerging occainsionally from pianist Adrean Farrugia and bassist Kelly Sill. Goode’s solo is exciting, making extensive use of the trumpet’s upper register, but without histrionics. The group’s journey through the melancholy Michel Legrand composition “Once Upon A Summertime,” has Goode turning Miles-lyrical and utilizing a mute. Farrugia is mostly lyrical here, with splurges of more abstract color at times. “Bemsha Swing” is pretty familiar territory, but Goode manages to put his own stamp of phrasing on the melody, and the group alternates between outright swing and more abstract moments, but never feels compelled to sound precisely ‘Monkish,’ a factor that contributes to the performance’s success.

Goode is an interesting composer, and his pieces here, in addition to the title track, are among the best in the set. “Just A Thought” has a breezy ballad feel, but Goode’s solo stirs some turbulence, building to a growling, frenzied finale. Hill gets in a solid bass solo, with Farrugia’s able accompaniment, before Goode returns with the melody like a cooling breeze, his tone soaring at the end. “Detroit Scene” is a mid-tempo post-bop number with some rhythmic changes that keep things interesting. Hall solos first, setting up Goode, who provides yet another able, appealing solo. At moments pianist Farrugia calls up memories of Wynton Kelly, at others he is distinctly more modern. “I Can’t Forget About You” is a flat-out ballad, with a backbeat from Hall that gives it something of a rock feel. In fact, this track might not have sounded way out of place on trumpeter Christian Scott’s recent release, Rewind That.

But overall Goode’s approach is more traditional than Scott’s, as he swings his way through “Thinking of You” with the confidence of Lee Morgan or Clifford Brown. Yet there are many things that demonstrate to the listener that he or she is hearing a modern player, not one steeped in nostalgia. For example, there’s the free form arrangement of the ballad “Beautiful Love” or the unusual interpretation of “Crazy Rhythm” with Goode using a mute to create some outrageous effects.

Hypnotic Suggestion is a fine disc that no listener who likes mainstream jazz, from bebop to the modernity of Monk will fail to enjoy. Definitely one to add to the library, even if you’ve not heard of Goode before.