Close to My Heart

At 27, this amazingly versatile jazz trumpeter has a resumé that leads to huge expectations. His ensemble work has encompassed Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove, Ralph Peterson, Cassandra Wilson, Greg Osby, and the Mingus Big Band. Pelt topped the 2003 Down Beat magazine annual critics poll for Rising Star on Trumpet, and the Jazz Journalist Association selected him as one of the Best Emerging Stars in Jazz. On his debut for the Maxjazz Horn Series, he brings along luminaries Mulgrew Miller, Peter Washington, and Lewis Nash, but it's clear he could be jamming with a bunch of no-names and be equally as emotional and engaging. The joy here comes from the unexpected fluctuations in tone and vibe from track to track. Charles Mingus' "Weird Nightmare" is given a lyrical, reflective twist, backed by a film score-lush orchestra. Just as one is settling into dreamscape mode, Pelt goes bop, swinging cool and funky over his understated trio on "Excerent" and going even wilder on the quick-grooving "Take Me in Your Arms." On "502 Blues (Drinkin' & Drivin')," he chills with his romantic-minded flügelhorn. Pelt seems just as comfy in either mode, but the upbeat gems are the ones that show him at his most inventive. Pelt continues to live up to the promise of all those accolades.