Jeremy Pelt is no stranger to Seattle. I first caught the trumpeter at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley over a decade ago. It’s been a joy to watch him grow as a musician and bandleader. I’ve seen him perform in three countries and NYC’s most storied venues including Smoke, Small’s and the Village Vanguard over the years. Most recently I saw him make a brief appearance at the John Coltrane Jazz Appreciation Day Festival in Harlem in late September.

We’ve interviewed Pelt in the past, so it was great to see him back in Seattle, celebrating his 50th birthday with his quintet at Seattle Jazz Fellowship. The show was part of his Pelt @ 50 tour, a six-week run that was still in its early stages.

Pelt has built an impressive career, releasing more than two dozen albums as a leader. His latest effort, Our Community Will Not Be Erased, which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the JazzWeek Music Chart, came out earlier this year on HighNote Records.

Pelt mentioned that he’s played in Seattle more this year than in previous ones, and he seemed right at home onstage. The packed house came to hear him cook, and he did not disappoint. A couple of ballads showed the more lyrical side of Pelt’s playing, including a stripped-down take on Barbra Streisand’s “People,” with Misha Mendelenko accompanying him on guitar. When Pelt opened things up, you could hear how much he’s developed his own voice on the trumpet and how comfortable he is with it. His playing has earned him Rising Star honors from both DownBeat and the Jazz Journalists Association for five consecutive years.

Pelt and the band sounded great together, and it was clear they were enjoying themselves onstage. Jalen Baker, a headliner in his own right who I’ve been impressed with before, was a standout on vibraphone, and it was fun watching the musicians play off one another. Pelt gave everyone room to do their thing, and the players made good use of it.

Pelt has talked before about what he looks for in the musicians he works with. In an earlier Mixyplix interview, he spoke about the value of having a “well-oiled touring band that’s been together for a while.” Onstage at the Jazz Fellowship, he joked that he’s “admittedly a very picky person” when it comes to musicians, before correcting himself. “I should say discerning, because I do know what I’m talking about.”

Pelt had plenty to say about Baker, too, including the “concentration and dedication” it takes to play vibraphone. He mentioned that the two had discussed the virtues of the instrument backstage before the show, and noted that Baker has released three albums as a leader (Pelt produced Baker’s last two).

Guitarist Misha Mendelenko, who is from Kyiv, Ukraine, was once one of Pelt’s students at William Paterson University in New Jersey, where the trumpeter has been teaching for a decade. Pelt joked that he doesn’t even know what the school’s mascot is. “I just do my job and then get back over the George Washington Bridge.” And do his job he did, as Mendelenko held his own alongside his former professor.

Bassist Leighton Harrell’s story went back to a meeting in Montreal, when Pelt encouraged him to stop being “the big fish in a little pond” and make the move to New York. Harrell has been in New York for four years now, and Pelt made it clear he was happy with how things had worked out. Us too!

Drummer Jared Spears stepped in for Pelt’s regular drummer, who couldn’t make the tour, and stayed deep in the pocket, keeping the quintet tight throughout the evening. The two had played together years earlier in Pelt’s quartet. Pelt called him a “double threat,” noting that he’s also an accomplished bassist.

The set moved between newer material from Woven and Tomorrow’s Another Day and older compositions. Pelt shared a few stories behind the songs, including the explanation for the title “13/14.” It refers to the song’s 13 measures and the 14 measures the musicians improvise over. “And therein lies the genius,” he joked, referring to the title, before telling the audience not to go spreading the secret around. He added that his MacArthur Genius Award should be arriving at his house shortly.

Pelt also shared some family stories behind the music including “Alma Is Here,” written for his youngest daughter, and “Princess Charlie,” written when his older daughter was two. Pelt said a thumbs-up from his daughter was better than a Grammy.

The quintet closed the two-set evening with “Aesop’s Fables,” from Pelt’s 2002 debut album, Profile. The song gave Pelt and the band room to open things up one last time before calling it a night and heading to Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver to wrap up the West Coast leg of the tour.

Next up, the crew will head back east before they start the European leg of the tour.