Podcast 579: A Conversation with Tedd Chubb

"Ted Chubb is a very talented trumpeter, composer, improviser, bandleader and educator. Ted is the total package, and most of all, he is just one great guy." - Christian McBride Ted Chubb's Gratified Never Satisfied allows the seasoned New Jersey trumpeter a chance to broaden his horizons, and he makes the most of it. Backed by a band that can sound throwback at one moment and perfectly modern in another, Chubb's collection of four original tunes and four well-chosen covers should allow him some well-deserved wider recognition. Chubb, along with Bruce Williams (alto sax); Seth Johnson (guitar); Oscar Perez (piano and Fender Rhodes); Tom Dicarlo (bass); and Jerome Jennings (drums), makes the material on the CD sound immediately familiar, using Perez's Fender Rhodes and Johnson's guitar to great effect. That highly electric sound is mitigated by the straight ahead sound of Chubb's trumpet, which hits the mark without adornment or electronic flourish. On the ten minute plus "Space", the result is – well, spacey – and then on "Tuesday" it's wistful and a tad romantic. Known as a co-leader of the quartet New Tricks, and an in-demand member of major big bands, Ted is also a major contributor to jazz education, with the New Jersey-based Jazz House Kids, a community arts organization—run by singer Melissa Walker and her husband Christian McBride—exclusively dedicated to educating children through jazz.  Podcast 579 is my conversation with Ted, as we discuss the new CD, his tenure in trumpeter Wallace Roney's Orchestra and drummer Winard Harper's band, and what he learned from spending time in the pit of a touring Broadway show. Musical selections from Gratified Never Satisfied include the title track, homage to his mentor William B. "Prof" Fielder; "Tuesday" and Wayne Shorter's "Adam's Apple."