Jeremy Pelt has done it again. His recently release Identity is everything a jazz CD should be – expressive, personal and explorative. When I caught up with him at the Kennedy Center & Twins a few months ago he was very excited about this CD and rightly so. To me it contains some of his best work.

If you have been listening to the MP3s of live shows he has performed over the past year – the direction he takes here should come as no surprise. The personnel on this CD are Frank LoCrasto: piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizer, effects; Vicente Archer: bass; Eric McPherson: drums. With Mike Moreno: guitar; Warren Wolf: vibraphone and Myron Walden: soprano saxophone, bass clarinet. All of these cats have played with Jeremy prior to this recording and it shows. The group is clearly on the same page in concept/direction while still allowing their individual voices to be heard.

From the energetic (and to my ears rock inspired) “Suspicion” to the floating “Eye of the Beholder,” Jeremy covers a wide but related spectrum of material. I say related because the overall vibe of the CD remains relatively constant. All music was written by Jeremy and shows that he is developing some serious composer chops. My favorite tune on the album is “Eddie’s Story” a tribute to a fantastic trumpet player by the name of Eddie Henderson. As far as his playing is concerned – he is on his game technically. His trumpet tone varies from dark and mysterious to electric and energetic. His sound on flugel is to die for makes me very glad that I picked up another Conn V1. His ideas are spontaneous and seem unrehearsed.

If you like straight ahead jazz and appreciate tunes that deviate from the norm, you should enjoy this latest offering. Jeremy and the group stretch the boundaries of music without totally destroying them. Personally speaking – I like that.