For those unaware, for more than two decades, trumpeter and composer Ted Chubb has built a life in jazz as a bandleader, educator, community builder, and artistic director in Jersey City. He leads his own ensembles, teaches jazz trumpet at Princeton University, and co-owns and helms The Statuary in his chosen hometown.

“Ted Chubb is a very talented trumpeter, composer, improviser, bandleader and educator,” says bassist, composer, and 11-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride. “Ted is the total package, and most of all, he is just one great guy.”

Chubb’s playing is grounded in melody, bebop, and blues phrasing. He draws from the trumpet lineage of Miles Davis, Booker Little, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Blue Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, and Art Farmer, alongside modern voices such as Tom Harrell and Nicholas Payton. He has also cited vocalists including Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan as formative influences.

“Everything I play, I want to have the blues in it — and I believe that jazz is a language and should be taught more similarly to an actual spoken language,” he has said. “There is improvised vocabulary and repertoire that you have to know to be able to communicate with other musicians in a logical and meaningful way.”

Chubb first gained recognition as co-leader, with saxophonist Mike Lee of New Tricks, a chordless quartet featuring trumpet, tenor saxophone, bass, and drums, which released New Tricks (2009) and Alternate Side (2011). He later released Gratified Never Satisfied (2017), reflecting the guiding philosophy he absorbed from William B. Fielder.

On May 15th, 2026, Chubb released his masterful Live at The Statuary on Circle 9 Records, documenting his longstanding quintet with Bruce Williams, Oscar Perez, Tom DiCarlo, and Jerome Jennings. Recorded over three nights in March 2025, the album captures a spectacular performance inside the space he helped create.

“I needed to record and put my music first — but most importantly, I am trying to connect with and develop relationships through music both in our local communities and the wider globe,” Chubb has said. “In a time where so much of the world is trying to divide us, I believe this is of the highest importance.”

1. SBB Bounce
2. Uptick
3. Little Flower Girl
4. Out Of This World
5. Expat
6. Refugee Hymn
7. 1919
8. Django
9. Empty Hearts

From a man who believes that jazz is a language and should be taught more similarly to an actual spoken language, Ted opens his affectingly authentic new recording on the upbeat and robustly sunny SBB Bounce and the enigmatic Uptick and then we are brought forth the languishing beauty of Little Flower Girl, the low slung, smokey ambiance of Out Of This World, the frenetically charged Expat, before the recording delightfully allows us into the worlds of the decadent Refugee Hymn, the softly sultry 1919, the set rounding out on the emotively sculpted Django, coming to a close on the atmospherically ambient Empty Hearts.

Refugee Hymn - Ted Chubb (Official Video)

Official Purchase Link

www.tedchubb.com