Jeff Rupert - It Gets Better (2024)

First and foremost, this album brings together a fantastic group of musicians, featuring saxophonist Jeff Rupert, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth—a fully acoustic configuration that perfectly suits a lover of the classic jazz style. Jeff infuses it with strength and conviction through interpretations and arrangements that are truly contemporary. His many recordings as a featured soloist include collaborations with Maynard Ferguson, Sam Rivers, Diane Schuur, Mel Tormé, and Benny Carter’s Grammy Award-winning recording, *Harlem Renaissance* (Music Masters), as well as the New Jersey blues band, The Fins, for example.

Here, we start with a common idea in the USA, imagining France in the 1950s and 60s, a time that still evokes dreams, with the track “Petrichor (in The Cote D’Azur).” It is true that today’s France is far from dreamy, stuck in increasing poverty over the decades. Thus, we embark on this album filled with nostalgic tones, where nothing is open to criticism. It’s no wonder, as Jeff has worn out his saxophone in Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, the Middle East, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Jeff is a longtime member of Sam Rivers’ band, with which he played at the Lincoln Center for *Jazz from Lincoln Center* on NPR, hosted by Ed Bradley. You see what I mean…

Few musicians can master the intricacies of jazz like Jeff Rupert. For him, everything seems natural, and honestly, once you dive into a deep listening of this album, it’s hard to escape. That’s the essence of well-crafted art. Beyond the shimmering melodic aspects of this album, you start to wonder about the musicians’ play and the quality of their contribution to the project, witnessing an almost magical synergy. References to cinema, like the beautifully done “Lana Turner,” culminate with “Promenade In Blue,” a nod to the great Miles… I’m telling you, this album carries the essence of contemporary art history—this is jazz. It allows you to position yourself wherever and however you want, as everyone has something to say. Beyond his musical ideas and compositions, Jeff Rupert also brings a warm sound, where roundness is the gathering point.

Jeff has been a featured soloist at the Chicago Blues Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Montreux/Japan Festival, the Lucerne Jazz Festival, the Jamaica Jazz Festival, the Aruba Jazz Festival, Bishopstock in Devon, England, the Jubileums Blues Festival in Hamar, Norway, the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland, the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork, Ireland, as well as at many other festivals worldwide. And undoubtedly, this album will not let him fade into obscurity. His compositions, along with this joyful quartet, will fill many clubs and festivals with life, as Jeff Rupert’s music is for everyone. Beyond the American continent, it will touch the hearts of all jazz lovers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this album since receiving it, drawn in as if hypnotized by this group. Truth be told, the pleasure it brings is somewhat akin to listening to old Miles Davis albums.

Perhaps it’s intentional, but in any case, it is a welcome addition to this highly classic, magnificent, and inspired album, which fully deserves its place among our “Essentials.”