When we argue that a little can mean a lot, we think that a small number of well-chosen elements can express more, more powerfully than an abundance energetically gathered for the sake of quantity. That is to say, in music we can say a lot with fewer notes, if they are accompanied by the permanent tension between sadness and joy. When we listen to a ballad or an energetic piece, we experience what the singer experiences. Or the singers, because we often refer to groups of musicians, and jazz offers us endless admirable combinations, from which we choose exactly what makes us feel the inevitable tension. Jeremy Pelt returns in 2023 with the second volume in The Art of Intimacy series, in which the dichotomy of passion and restraint is sublimely unfolded in a quartet format with trumpet, piano, double bass and drums, plus a string quartet that not only plays the role of accompaniment but is directly involved in the musical relationship, not decorating but commenting on the trumpet phrases. The musicians listen to each other attentively, give each other space and reveal their sensibilities, along with mastery, in a full definition of intimacy. "The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 2 His Muse" is a clean, heartfelt album in the tone of fine productions that adds to Jeremy Pelt's generous list of exceptional albums, long confirmed since his days playing in the Mingus Big Band. Now he's doing what he does. better and better.