Interviews

JEREMY PELT: A JAZZ COLLECTIVE OF THE INTIMATE

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WHILE THE WORLD MAY BE IN ‘LOCKDOWN’ MODE, JEREMY PELT’S CAREER HAS BEEN FREE AND ACTIVE. THIS YEAR HE’S RELEASED TWO ALBUMS THAT DISPLAY DIVERGENT COLORS OF HIS PALATE. HE’S MOST RECENTLY RELEASED THE THIRD ALBUM (ASCENSION) FROM HIS HARD HITTING BLACK ART JAZZ COLLECTIVE, WHICH IS AN EXCITING AND MASTERLY TOUR DE FORCE OF VINTAGE TONES AND GROOVES.

BUT EARLIER IN THE YEAR HE GRABBED EVERYONE’S ATTENTION WITH A GORGEOUS OUTING OF BALLADS WITH DEFT AND SUBTLE SUPPORT BY PIANIST GEORGE CABLES AND BASSIST PETER WASHINGTON, WITH AN IMPRESSIONISTIC, LYRICAL AND APTLY TITLED THE ART OF INTIMACY. 

PELT HAS CARVED OUT A CAREER THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PEG, AS JUST WHEN YOU THINK HE’S A STRAIGHT BOPPER, AS EVIDENCED BY HIS EARLIEST ALBUMS, HE PIVOTS AND PLUGS IN ONCE IN AWHILE FOR A FUNKY FUSION OUTING. THEN, LAST YEAR, HE DID A COLLECTION OF PIECES DEDICATED TO THE ARTIST AUGUSTE RODIN, FURTHER WIDENING HIS MUSICAL REACH.

RECENTLY, WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF EMAILING MR. PELT, AND HE WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO SHARE HIS THOUGHTS ON HIS MUSIC AND LIFE.

YOUR LATEST ALBUM (THE ART OF INTIMACY, VOLUME 1) HAS YOU IN A DRUMMERLESS SETTING, WITH JUST PIANO AND BASS. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU IN THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT? 

Truth be told, there were no real musical challenges in this environment, outside of just being conscious of varying the arrangements.
WHO DO YOU ‘LOCK IN TO” FOR THE PULSE IN A DRUMMERLESS BAND?
One of the most important aspects to musicianship as a non-drummer is that we know how to internalize time as not to be dependent on a drummer for the time. It makes the musical conversation flow more smoothly. The time is in all of us.
SINCE THIS ALBUM IS ENTITLED “VOLUME 1″, WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO YOU HAVE FOR ” THE ART OF INTIMACY”
I’ve got a few ideas, but none I’m willing to share at present.
TO MAKE AN ALBUM LIKE THE ART INTIMACY, YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE A GREAT TONE AND HAVE FAITH IN IT. WHAT DO YOU DO TO HAVE THAT CONFIDENT, YET WARM OF A SOUND? 
Sound: Long tones at a low decibal. Confidence: Live life. Your story gets deeper the older you get.
WHEN DID YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAD YOUR OWN SOUND ON THE HORN?
I  mostly feel that I have my own identity on the trumpet, rather than my own sound.
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“I  mostly feel that I have my own identity on the trumpet, rather than my own sound”
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YOU’VE HAD A LONG ASSOCIATION WITH GEORGE CABLES. HOW DID YOU FIRST MEET, AND WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT HIS ACCOMPANIMENT?
I first met AND played with George at the same time, which was in the late 90s playing in drummer Winard Harper’s band. His sense of touch and sensitivity is unparalleled.
WHEN YOU LISTEN TO A TRUMPET PLAYER, WHAT DO YOU LISTEN FOR?
Sound and clarity. I don’t care how much s… the player can play, if I can’t get past the sound, then the ideas aren’t sold on me.
DO YOU HAVE A ‘PET PEEVE’ ABOUT TRUMPET PLAYERS?
The notion that higher and faster somehow always equates to better. Of course, not all trumpeters think this way, but they’re out there.
YOU’VE RECORDED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF SETTINGS, FROM ACOUSTIC POST BOP TO ELECTRONIC. ARE ANY OF THEM YOUR ‘COMFORT FOOD’ STYLE OF PLAYING?
I don’t present things I’m not comfortable with.

THIS TRIO ALBUM IS A MAJOR DEPARTURE FROM YOUR EARLIER ALBUM THE ARTIST, WHICH HAD EXTRA PERCUSSION AND WAS CENTERED AROUND THE SCUPTURES OF AUGUST RODIN. HOW DOES A VISUAL ART HELP YOU FIGURE OUT A COMPOSITION OR INSTRUMENTAL SELECTION/ARRANGEMENT? 

It gives you an immediate context to write about. The artwork itself can provide the composer with a wide range of emotions.
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“I don’t care how much s…. the player can play, if I can’t get past the sound, then the ideas aren’t sold on me”
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YOU’VE ALSO RECENTLY BEEN PART OF ANOTHER EXCELLENT ALBUM FROM THE CO-OP BAND  BLACK ART JAZZ COLLECTIVE (ASCENSION). THE BAND’S NAME OBVIOUSLY TOOK A LOT OF THOUGHT TO IT. WHICH WORD OF THE BAND’S NAME IS THE FOCUS OF THE GROUP? 
You can’t single out a word as a major focus in this title. It’s a descriptive title synonymous with what we are presenting. The title is to recognize that this art form is Black music, started by Black people. The “art” in this case takes it’s form in Jazz. And finally the group is a collection of musical minds not governed by a single leader (de facto or de jure).
LET’S TALK A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? WHAT ARE THREE MAJOR BOOKS YOU’D RECOMMEND OTHERS TO READ?
Depends on what “others” consider to be “major”. There are many classics that I could never get through for lack of interest.
I INTERVIEWED ROXY COSS, AND SHE WAS DEEPLY IMPRESSED BY HOW YOU RAN THE BAND WHEN SHE WAS IN IT, AS WELL AS YOUR INTEGRITY. WHO GAVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE FOR YOUR CAREER, AND WHAT WAS IT?
What she was impressed by didn’t come from advice, but rather the experiences that I’d amassed apprenticing in many other bands before fronting my own. Those experiences taught me how to be the kind of leader I’ve turned out to be, and in turn allowed me to show her and other members of that band and subsequent bands how to be effective.
DO YOU HAVE A RELIGION OR PHILOSOPHY THAT HELPS MOTIVATE YOU AS A PERSON AND MUSICIAN?
In today’s time especially, it’s easy to give up or feel defeated. One has to cling to faith.
WHAT MUSICIAN, LIVING OR DEAD, WOULD YOU PAY $1000 TO SEE, AND WHY?
Give me more money and a choice of more than one musician! 😂
WHO IN HISTORY OR PRESENT TIME WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT DOWN WITH AND PICK THEIR BRAIN?
My father, Timothy Pelt. He died when I was 10 months old, so I imagine we’d have a lot to talk about.
YOU’VE PLAYED WITH SOME AMAZING ARTISTS. WHO AMONG THOSE YOU’VE PLAYED WITH OR FOR HAD THE BEST ‘MUSICAL MIND’ AND WHY? 
It was always a treat to see and hear how bassist Dwayne Burno- may he rest in peace- enhanced every piece he touched- almost immediately.
THERE ARE SO MANY YOUNG ARTISTS THAT WANT TO BE PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THEM.
Place your love of the music over your ambition.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY IN YOUR LIFE?
My kids.
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE?
Like the song says, “I did it my way”
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“Place your love of the music over your ambition”
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AS YOU CAN DETECT BY HIS ATTITUDE ABOUT HIS ALBUMS, HIS CRAFT AND HIS PRIORITIES, JEREMY PELT IS AS WELL BALANCED PERSONALLY AS MUSICALLY. HIS DIRECTION IN HIS MUSICAL CAREER IS CONFIDENT AND DIRECT, AS WELL BALANCED AND THOUGHT OUT AS HIS PERSPECTIVES ON WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE.
HIS MUSIC, NO MATTER WHETHER IT IS ACOUSTIC, ELECTRIC, SOFT OUR LOUD, IS ALWAYS , AS HIS ALBUM SAYS, INTIMATE AND AN ART.

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