Rex Richardson: Elegy

Grief is often complex and multi-faceted. How we cope with it reflects as much about those we have lost as it does about ourselves. This is a reality that trumpet master Rex Richardson knows all too well, having lost his father in 2023.

Elegy is Richardson's poignant tribute to his father, yet the eight songs offer a variety of personal tributes that explore the complexity of living through bereavement in unexpected ways with moods both somber and bright.

For the uninitiated, Richardson has been a musical polymath for decades; an in-demand soloist for classical orchestras the world over, a highly respected jazz educator, an adventurous jazz group leader and composer, as well as an author of instructional books, including the recently published Rexterity: Dexterity Studies for Trumpet (QPress). He taught at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2002-2024 and is the newly appointed trumpet professor at University of South Carolina.

Elegy finds Richardson in the company of Virginia jazz all-stars and VCU alums in quintet/sextet combos that include pianists Dimitrije Vasiljevic and Daniel Clarke, tenor saxophonist Charles Owens (the superb JC Kuhl guests on one song), world class altoist Steve Wilson on three numbers, venerable bassists Andrew Randazzo and Randall Pharr, and Kofi Shepsu and Brian Caputo sharing duties behind the kit.

The funky "Peanuts and Ice Cream" is Richardson's charming hard bop homage to his late father's favorite dessert, featuring a slinky blues groove with bright, muscular solos by Owens and Richardson demonstrating his powerful control in the higher register.

"The Sunday After" is Owens's heartfelt requiem for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, highlighted by mournful unison playing and gorgeous legato by Richardson. Meanwhile, the hauntingly beautiful "Aurora" is an iridescent, slow burning composition by Vasiljevic built on a triadic melody that frees Wilson and Richardson to attain ever-higher levels of intensity. If you like the Wilson/Richardson combo here, be sure to check out the trumpeter's equally excellent recording, Blue Shift (Summit Records, 2014).

"The Tao of Heavy D" is a catchy composition with an angular edge that was originally featured on Richardson's 2007 release Jazz Upstairs: Live at the Bar Guru (Summit Records) but is given a far more focused treatment here. The unaccompanied intro by Richardson is jaw-dropping for its technical precision, featuring intervallic jumps and buzzes that demonstrate why he's such an in-demand soloist and Yamaha Performing Artist. Similarly, the knotty "Honey Badger" (he don't care!) is a high-tempo lip-burner that showcases powerful solos from all players.

The easygoing "Seize Every Day" opens with bouncy horns in unison on a stop-time blues. Richardson leads the dance with lovely, burnished tones, followed by Owens digging deep into his dynamic range and Vasiljevic surfacing with sparkling right-handed work on the far end of the keyboard.

The best song for my money is the captivating waltz time composition "Lefty in the Clover." Richardson sounds like a latter-day Art Farmer (and then some) on flugelhorn. He and Owens approach their solos with graceful rising and falling passages, decorated with lovely trills, tempered dissonance by Owens and supple bass passages by Randazzo.

Perhaps the most accessible jazz release in Rex Richardson's catalog, Elegy is at once a study in the healing process and a multi-textured hard bop adventure. It's another exciting chapter in the career of a restless and highly accomplished trumpeter.

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