November

After exploring electric sounds on *Shock Value: Live at Smoke*, trumpeter and composer Jeremy Pelt returns to an all-acoustic format on *November*. Pelt and his band — tenor saxophonist J. D. Allen, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Gerald Cleaver — inventively update the sound of Miles Davis’s extraordinary quintet from the 1960s, but the album doesn’t come off as a retro move; it’s too engaged and engaging in a here-and-now sort of way. Pelt wrote and arranged all of the material on this 2008 release (“Nephthys” is a particularly striking example of his compositional abilities). *November* opens with “Mata,” a free-time piece that evokes the sound of classic Coltrane and features the percussion of guest Jeff Haynes. Throughout the album the rhythm section sounds great, as they consistently create complex, yet lucid, rhythmic backdrops. Both Grissett and Allen bring to mind their Davis quintet analogues — pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Wayne Shorter — but their solos display distinctive voices. And Pelt is one of the best young trumpeters out there; check out his lovely and pure tone on the ballad “Rosalie.”

Jeremy Pelt formed a new quintet prior to the making of November, featuring tenor saxophonist JD Allen, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Gerald Cleaver.