Brandon Woody: For the Love of It All album review — from gentle lyricism to swaggering virtuosity

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Brandon Woody, the latest young American trumpeter to burst on to the international stage, was raised and is still based in Baltimore. He dropped out of the Manhattan School of Music in 2018 and honed his skills working his home town’s Black music scene. A jazz one-to-watch, he now makes his Blue Note debut with a thrilling blend of rooted modernism and contemporary beats.

Woody’s trumpet style is a singular composite of current leading stylists. The brash confidence of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) is a feature, as are Kenyon Harrold’s soulful asides and Ambrose Akinmusire’s whispers of melancholia. Here, Woody fuses his bold and brassy subtleties with the rattle of hip-hop beats, spacious bass lines and telling narrative dynamics. Themed around love and delivered by a cast of unknowns, the set moves unerringly from gentle lyricism to swaggering virtuosity.

The album begins with a scattering of piano chords before undulating through trumpet-fuelled anxiety and moments of calm that are made more poignant by vocalist Imani-Grace’s understated delivery of the title’s lyric in “Never Gonna Run Away”. The uplifting trumpet sustains of “Beyond the Reach of Our Eyes” follow, with hints of walking bass. “Wisdom: Terrace on St Paul Street” slow-burns with an inner fire, the repeated melody of “Perseverance” sits on a bustle of rhythmic complexity and the subtle curves of “We, Ota Benga” form the album’s ballad.

Woody’s technical facility and meld of present and past impress, but it is his working band Upendo’s narrative control which brings the detail of Woody’s aesthetic to life. Bassist Michael Saunders and drummer Quincy Phillips deliver a masterclass of sharp dynamics, stretched textures and helter-skelter beats, and Troy Long adds emotional depth on piano, organ and Fender Rhodes.

The set closes with the clear melody and confident arc of the album’s single “Real Love, Pt 1”. Woody’s breathy lines entwine with Saunders’ bass, emotions rise and the piece gently fades to a single trumpet note.

★★★★☆

‘For the Love of It All’ is released by Blue Note