Trumpeter Jeff Lofton stopped off for an evening of music at Shenanigans in Brownsville Wednesday night and served up another night of coolly impressive jazz. Lofton makes good choices in many dimensions, from the charts he plays to the chops he applies to them. What comes out is very soulful. The crowd was large and rowdy, and a good many turned their heads to hear what was going down.

The musicians siding with Mr. Lofton were again impressive. It was the same crew he assembled for his last appearance, Clay Moore on guitar, Dr. Matt Johnson on bass, and Michael Trenfield handling the drum kit. Moore is creative and playful, finding opportunities to echo Lofton’s lines and then taking off on his own. Dr. Johnson layed down solid lines both of the sets I heard and added some fine solo work. Mr. Trenfield held things together with masterful play on the drums.

Mr. Lofton travels to Mexico from here and his next date in the Valley is not yet set. We’ll try to get plenty of advance notice out for the next one so Brownsville can have an opportunity to appreciate this fine artist. You can get a taste at his MySpace Music page.