JEREMY PELT & WiRED
Shock Value Live at Smoke

MaxJazz

 

Shock Value captures trumpeter Jeremy Pelt JER and his electric band, WiRED live at the Manhattan club Smoke. The performance is evidence that Pelt is finding his own voice as a trumpet player and a composer, as he navigates a variety of sub-categories of electric jazz.

WiRED features a strong set of players to realize and bolster Pelt’s vision. Frank Locrasto plays Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, and a variety of other keyboards and effects. Al Street is a scrappy, pugnacious electric guitarist who can be atmospheric or just shred the place, depending on what’s called for in any particular number. Gavin Fallow and Dana Hawkins, on bass and drums respectively, create a high energy level, but still manage to move lightly and quickly. At times, such as during Locrasto’s Fender solo on “Suspicion,” the group sounds a bit like Chick Corea’s original Return to Forever group.

Because of the way the group plays at times, and also because Pelt feeds his trumpet and flugelhorn work through a variety of electronic effects, there will inevitabley be comparisons of this work with Miles Davis’ electronic groups, particularly the transitional group that featured Corea along with Keith Jarrett. First, it’s encouraging that younger musicians today are interested in exploring these kinds of sounds and musical ideas, because there were many avenues suggested by some of the original fusion bands that were never adequately explored. Second, Miles was really the only musician who stuck by what he was doing with his electronic music and didn’t revert to an earlier sound after a short period. Further, he didn’t treat the electronics as a gimmick the way that many did at the time. So, any musician who is serious about creating improvisational jazz with electronic imstruments and effects will go through Miles. But musicians like Pelt, who grew up in the 80s and 90s grew up listening to a lot of other stuff as well, including hip-hop, rock, and various forms of electronica. They blend ideas from all of these sources, not simply from jazz sources.

The opening “Circular,” an arresting repeated line in the manner of Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti” allows for some hot solos from Pelt and Street. The group then launches into a raunchy blues that is gritty and authentic. Pelt, playing through effects, is all about playing the blues, and not about how many notes or what substitute changes he can run against the blues, as some jazz musicians would be. The same can be said of Street’s exemplary guitar solo. Locrasto plays some tasty Hammond B3 on this one, further adding to the late night lounge vibe.

Vocalist Becca Stevens joins the band for the hypnotic “Cause,” the sound of her voice more like another instrument to interact with Pelt than conveying meaning through lyrics. Two more Pelt originals, “Pythagorus” and “Scorpio” round out the performance, balanced by the ethereal ballad “Beyond,” which was composed by Derek Nievergelt. Listening to Pelt’s solo on “Pythagorus” one can’t help but notice the way he swings and bristles with splashes of bop playing. It certainly supports Pelt’s contention, in his liner notes, that perhaps we ought to give up the notion of placing music into discreet categories. When the results are as tasty and well-executed as Shock Value, I’m all for that.