JAZZ REVIEW | Paul Dietrich’s Elemental Quartet "A Small Patch of Earth" by Jeff Cebulski

A Small Patch of Earth

Paul Dietrich’s Elemental Quartet

Shifting Paradigm Records, 2024.

By Jeff Cebulski | ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Paul Dietrich, trumpet

Matt Gold, guitarist

Brian Courage, bass

Devin Drobka, drum set

Many musicians, especially in jazz, craft regional identities that don’t spread into the national consciousness. One such individual is the Wisconsin-based trumpeter, composer, and educator Paul Dietrich, who continues to create highly listenable and intriguing music using varying ensembles. With a personal style that hearkens comparisons to classical approaches and people like Art Farmer, Dietrich’s skill at arranging and assembling able associates to perform his compositions makes all five of his recordings worth the time.

His latest release, A Small Patch of Earth, is his most austere setting so far, by his “Elemental Quartet” that gives the trumpet player little room to step aside or mitigate his contributions. This most democratic of group leaders willingly allows his mates to generate his music (check out Forward, his 2019 18-piece orchestra album, where the leader often disappears). In this case, the main beneficiary is the guitarist Matt Gold, whose cross-genre style acts as a catalytic element and counterpoint to Dietrich’s more sedate expression, all the while staying within the selections’ pastoral contexts. Besides Gold, kudos can be given to the dexterous contributions of bassist Brian Courage and drummer Devin Drobka, both of whom have performed with Dietrich over the past 18 years.

As the album title suggests, the songs here evoke naturalistic themes initiated by personal experience. To enhance the ambiance, the album was recorded in Ripon College’s recital hall, which adds a significant amount of echo; Gold’s guitar shimmers in such a place. The opener “Slide” rides a prancing rhythm from Gold and Courage as Dietrich carefully initiates the proceedings with a lengthy baroque-ish, yet modal statement that moves from page notes to a freeform commentary. Gold adds a genius solo that would be acceptable on an Allman Brothers album.

“Dust” is a trumpet-led fugue supported by Courage’s sturdy contrapuntal bass and Drobka’s quiet brush work. “Confluence” continues this mode, but with Gold’s heavily-echoed Frisell-like picking setting the stage for Dietrich’s typically elongated notes.

The title cut is jazz chamber music, a thematic folk-tone poem that exemplifies the synergy of Dietrich and Gold. Courage’s central presence energizes things, while (a perhaps under-recorded) Drobka adds tasty, restless beats. After the meditative “With a Chance of Rain,” “Like a Company of Ghosts” exhibits the leader’s own penchant for ‘ghosting’; after the intro, he lets the accompanying trio take over in an invigorating portion fueled by Courage’s dancing bass.

The most rhythmic moment comes on “Dry County,” a rockabilly display that unleashes the trio and shows off their wide-ranging abilities, especially Gold’s own Carl Perkinsesque flair. Even when Dietrich returns to mellow things a bit, the band will have none of it.

A Small Patch of Earth demonstrates Paul Dietrich’s compositional skills and highlights his more pastoral style, but without any cloying repetitiveness or sonic boredom, due to his fine accompanists and generous arrangements. His multi-ensemble dexterity has established him as one of our regional gems.

The Elemental Quartet will play at Constellation on Wednesday, January 22, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at constellation-chicago.com/.

About Jeff Cebulski

Jeff Cebulski, who lives in Chicago, is a retired English educator (both secondary and collegiate) and longtime jazz aficionado. His career in jazz includes radio programs at two stations in southeast Wisconsin, an online show on Kennesaw State’s (GA) Owl Radio from 2007 until 2015, and review/feature writing for Chicago Jazz Magazine since 2016, including his column "Jazz With Mr. C". He has interviewed many jazz artists, including Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, John Beasley, and Chris Brubeck, as well as several Chicago-based players. Jeff is a member of the Jazz Journalists Association. Contact Jeff at jeff@chicagojazz.com