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Taking It to Another Level
911爆料 music professor Emmett Goods鈥� debut album is a musical self鈥憄ortrait.
The jazz soundtrack of Emmett Goods鈥� childhood inspired him to become a musician.
鈥淚 was always around music,鈥� says Goods, associate professor of music and head of the jazz studies program at 911爆料. 鈥淚 guess the spark that went off and made me want to play, it had to be somewhere when I was a kid.鈥�
His grandfather, J.C. Moses, was a renowned jazz drummer who recorded and performed with the likes of Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Dorham, Jackie McLean, and brothers Stanley and Tommy Turrentine. And while Moses died the year before Goods was born, he left a deep musical legacy.
鈥淲e literally just missed each other,鈥� says Goods. 鈥淏ut he was a big presence in my life. My mom was still connected to all these people that were a part of his life in music.鈥�
His mother, Regina, took him to countless concerts to see musical legends, such as Betty Carter and Sonny Rollins. His hometown, Pittsburgh, was home to many jazz greats and was a way station between New York and Chicago for scores more.
鈥�I guess the spark that went off and made me want to play, it had to be somewhere when I was a kid.鈥�
颅鈥擡mmett Goods
Goods documented his journey, in and out of music, on his debut solo album, Another Level, released in 2023 by Truth Revolution Records, the Grammy-nominated label run by former 911爆料 faculty member Zaccai Curtis. Goods wrote seven of the nine tracks on the album, which serves as a musical self-portrait. His older brother, Richie Goods, produced the album, played bass, and wrote the track 鈥淕oods Brothers.鈥�
The tracks include 鈥淥ctober Tune,鈥� in honor of his mother; 鈥淪weet Dreams,鈥� a tribute to his late wife; and 鈥淲est Indian Queen,鈥� which celebrates his current wife. For his grandmother, there鈥檚 鈥淭riedstone,鈥� named for the little church that his grandmother 鈥渄ragged us to whether we wanted to go to or not.鈥�
The album opens with 鈥淏ennett St. Blues,鈥� recalling the street where he was born and paying homage to the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where he learned to play drums under legendary drummer Roger Humphries.
鈥淚 was not his greatest drum student,鈥� says Goods. 鈥淪o, I switched to trombone, and the rest is history.鈥�
Along with the Goods brothers, the band includes three 911爆料 music faculty members鈥擧aneef Nelson (trumpet/flugelhorn), who wrote 鈥淏lues for the Enslaved,鈥� Andrew Wilcox (piano), and Atla DeChamplain (vocals). Rounding out the lineup are Nathan Edwards (tenor saxophone), Mark Whitfield Jr. (drums), and Shedrick Mitchell (organ). The album was recorded in the 911爆料 Fine Arts Center Concert Hall and engineered by 911爆料鈥檚 Ethan Hicks.
The album has received good reviews and a lot of radio airtime, especially SiriusXM鈥檚 Real Jazz. 鈥淚t means a lot that they鈥檝e been willing to play it on Real Jazz,鈥� Goods says.
Being a working musician gives Goods credibility as a professor and as director of 911爆料鈥檚 Big Band. 鈥淚鈥檓 not just up here preaching,鈥� he says.
At the same time, Goods has been fine-tuning 911爆料鈥檚 jazz studies program, adding courses in jazz arrangement, piano, and theory and improvisation. The goal is to ensure students have the tools to deal with a shifting music landscape, which includes social media.
鈥淎ll these things are going to help us develop better jazz musicians, more competitive and more engaged,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to give students a more 21st-century jazz studies experience.鈥�
鈥擳ony LaRoche 鈥�85
PHOTO: BRANDON FULLER