British trumpeter Laura Jurd has been around for a while – her first album came out in 2012 – but remains relatively unknown on these shores. Though young in jazz years (she’s still under 40), she’s worked in a diverse array of modes, from last year’s adventurous session with British legend Paul Dunmall to the amiable rollick of 2022’s aptly titled The Big Friendly Album to her albums with the ECM-minded quartet Dinosaur.
Jurd’s latest leader album, Rites and Revelations deals somewhat in the ceremonial and epiphanic, but it could serve as an awakening to American listeners unfamiliar with her work.
As a trumpeter, bandleader and woman, Jurd may fit the bill for fans of jaimie branch looking to fill the hole left by their untimely passing.