Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret

Trumpeter and educator Brad Goode has been playing jazz at Chicago's DePaul University (where he also studied bass). After graduation, he went on to play with saxophonists Von Freeman and Eddie Harris, trumpeter "Red" Rodney (who was a mentor to the young musician), drummer Jack DeJohnette, vocalist Rosemary Clooney, te Woody Herman Orchestra, and so many others. With his own groups, he led the "house band" at the Windy City's famous The Green Mill in the 1980s and 90s. Goode has issued numerous albums on the SteepleChase label, on Delmark Records, and with his new Quintet date, seven albums over the past 18 years on Origin Records.

"Live Your Dream: Live at North Street Cabaret" is the second release for Goode's Quintet that features the legendary tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts. Watts, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in October 1945, became one of the more famous Los Angeles "session men" of the 1970s, recording with The Doors, Marvin Gaye, Carole King, Quincy Jones, Lee Ritenour. and so many others. He spend two decades playing in The Tonight Show Band, led by Doc Severinsen. He had played with Goode in the early 2010s; this quintet came together in 2018. Besides the trumpeter and the saxophonist, the rhythm section on its first Origin album, "That's Right", featured Canadian pianist Adrean Farrugia, drummer Adam Nussbaum, and bassist Kelly Sill. Sadly, Sill passed in 2022 but, for their post-Pandemic work Goode recruited Jay Anderson (Maria Schneider Orchestra) to fill his chair.

Speaking of the Pandemic, here's the opening track, "Covid Nightmare":

The band jumps right into the fray with a raucous opening but soon settles down into Farrugia's fine piano solo. Listen to how Nussbaum and Anderson play off each other and the soloist; they leave him room but nudge the pianist right along. Enter Goode. His rapid-fire lines, his interaction with the rhythm section, seem to take their inspiration from one's reaction to the monster virus. Note the buzzy ending and lead in to Watts' boisterous interaction with the playful drumming and thick, quick, bass lines. The saxophonist displays youthful fire as he pushes harder and higher through his solo. The piano and bass enter into a quick conversation until the "front line" jups back into the melody.

Watts's "For Michael", dedicated to the late Michael Brecker, is a handsome ballad. Goode's solo dances around the splendid brush work of Nussbaum and Anderson's counterpoint to Farrugia's chordal background. The trumpeter shows some fire, his crisp, clear, notes rising about the band. Watts jumps right in, his emotional solo not only paying tribute but also wailing the loss of the younger musician (though born four years after the composer, he died at the age of 58 in 2007). Watts and Goode catch fire for a raucous minute before returning to the well-constructed melody.

Other highlights include the pianist's high-powered "Half Moon", Nussbaum's playful "I Miss Missing You", and the standard "Someday My Prince Will Come". Farrugia's piece opens with piano chords in the style of Keith Jarrett's "The Windup" but the trumpet theme goes in a much different direction, due to Goode's emotional reading. Watts then plays the melody line as the rhythm careers forward. The sax and horn join forces to finish the long thematic section before Watts steps forward. His powerful solo negotiates the chordal shifts Farrugia his way, ending up in highest range. That sets the tone for Goode's flight of fancy. He too plays off the piano chords creating a thrilling solo. Farrugia takes the intensity down a notch or two before he creates a stunning solo, its urgent quality echoed i =n Nussbaum's interactions.

The drummer's piece strolls in atop his playful melodic playing before each member, save the bassist, gets an unaccompanied piece of the melody. There's a splintered reggae-style rhythm under the tenor saxophonist as he starts his excellent solo. The tempo shifts into overdrive for just a moment before Goode takes over the spotlight. He and the drummer engage in a "battle of who's setting the tempo" before Farrugia dances forward for a solo that suggests Thelonious Monk but also Oscar Peterson, especially when Anderson and Nussbaum triple the tempo for a quick minute. Anderson, one of the most melodic bassists you'll ever hear, gets his own spotlight, a playful conversation with the drummer. You may recognize some of the some of the quotes thrown into the mix.

"Someday..." opens with throbbing bass note and a lovely tenor sax lead in to the famous melody. The whispering brush work and the quiet piano comments leave plenty of space for Watts to create a fine, melodic, solo. He takes his time, adding a sweet coda as the music fades.

Farrugia's funky "Goose Dance", clearly inspired by the rhythmic piano accompaniment of the afore-mentioned "The Windup" and the African rhythms of Adullah Ibrahim, closes the album on a joyful note. The theme is well-constructed and opens to a solo that Goode powers his way through, interacting with the pianist and the drummer's thunderous reports. When the band drops out, Nussbaum plays a simple beats and Watts dances all around, his rapid-fire phrases moving aside for just a moment for Farrugia to introduce a hearty montuno which gives the saxophonist the opportunity to bust out into his own dance. The end of the song and the album come way too soon.

"Live Your Dream" could be twice its 65-minute length and still feel too short. Everyone, from the leader Brad Goode and his front-line companion Ernie Watts, to the first-class rhythm section of Adrean Farrugia, Jay Anderson, and Adam Nussbaum, plays with great fire, emotion, and, yes, joy. There's not a weak moment on the album. Give us more!!