By Ed Enright | Published March 2025
In addition to being a flat-out great listen, Brighter Days documents the evolution of Chicago-area tenor saxophonist and composer Jarod Bufe’s working quartet since its auspicious 2018 debut New Spaces, a program of exquisitely crafted and impeccably executed original compositions developed over years of regular live performances at jazz-friendly clubs like FitzGerald’s in historic Berwyn, Illinois. With guitarist Tim Stine, bassist Matt Ulery and drummer Jon Deitemyer once again onboard, Bufe leads his crack band of like-minded A-listers through fresh material that benefits from their hard-earned cohesiveness, which they’ve managed to refine over an especially challenging stretch of years — from the steady-building momentum of pre-COVID gigs through the current, post-COVID era as a stronger, more mature ensemble demonstrating heightened awareness, a broadened artistic sensibility and a more emotional presentation overall. This new collection of tunes is clearly inspired by pandemic lockdowns and reflections on the role of music in expressing and providing hope during dark times, with telling titles like “Midnight” (a minor vamp with an angular melody that conjures a slightly ominous “Bohemia After Dark” mood), “The Forgotten Before” (an uplifting jazz waltz with great solos by Ulery and Stine), the bluesy Joe Lovano-meets-John Scofield vibe of “Loss Of Agency,” the funkified groover “Fighting For Hope” (with a snappy backbeat courtesy of Deitemyer, a master of tasteful crispness and top-of-the-beat propulsion), “Goodnight, My Brooklyn Prince” (an elegiac tribute to the late saxophonist Mark Colby, Bufe’s close friend and frequent collaborator) and “Eclipse” (which alternates between repetitive-riff mania and sweet rides of cymbal-tapping release) — not to mention the uptempo swing and forward-facing optimism of the album’s title track. Brighter Days is a shining example of the type of high-calibre art that ultimately takes shape when team players stick together and creativity triumphs over adversity.
