Jeff Rupert: It Gets Better

Florida-based tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert leads a superlative quartet on It Gets Better, a graceful and charming album recorded September 2021 at the renowned Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey. While comparisons to other musicians are as a rule less than viable, the striking similarities between Rupert and the late jazz giant Stan Getz cannot simply be overlooked or ignored. As John Coltrane once said of Getz, "We'd all sound like that if we could." Not only can Rupert sound like Getz, he does. And the resemblance does not end there, as there are countless moments on this invariably entertaining session when an attentive listener can hear and appreciate the spirit of Getz in almost every well-turned phrase and accent.

Perhaps Rupert's kinship to Getz helps explain why he was able to assemble a rhythm section whose collective skills and dexterity are unrivaled on today's jazz scene. Support groups simply do not come any better than pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth, each one a widely acclaimed artist whose body of work is as massive as it is admirable—and one of whom (Barron) was a mainstay in one of Getz's later-day quartets. Rupert wrote five of the album's charming originals to complement Billy Strayhorn's seductive "Lana Turner," Marc Shaiman's sunny "Nowhere to Go But Up" (from the film Mary Poppins Returns) and the handsome Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen standard, "Like Someone in Love."

Rupert's lithe swinger, "Petrichor (in the Cote D'azur)" sets the tone, with the leader's spellbinding horn sliding easily through the delightful chord changes while opening the way for engaging solos by Barron and Washington. Rupert's robust "Comanche Crush" leads to "Lana Turner," which precedes the melodious title track and pensive "Pharaoh's Daughter." Rupert handles "Like Someone in Love" with kid gloves, as should be the case with a song whose memorable theme needs no helping hand. Rupert wrote the album's closing numbers, the upbeat "Not My Blues" and laid-back "Promenade in Blue," each of which is stylishly drawn to capture and hold the listener's interest. Farnsworth, who limits his role for the most part to keeping time, launches a number of exhilarating four-bar exchanges with Rupert and Barron on "Not My Blues."

Even though Getz's magisterial footprints are ever-present in Rupert's sound and style, he and his teammates do everything in their power to stamp their own signature on the music, an endeavor that by and large pays sizable dividends. This is high-quality and invariably satisfying contemporary jazz, performed by four celebrated masters of the genre. And for those who recall the unique sound and remarkable artistry of Getz and would like nothing better than to relive that breathtaking experience, Rupert's quartet has a pleasant surprise for them, too.

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