Corey Wilkes has been getting attention as the up-and-coming Chicago trumpet player for several years now. Those are pretty big shoes to fill, but Wilkes is likely used to that, since he was the man chosen in 2003 by Roscoe Mitchell to play trumpet with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, a position that had been vacant since the great Lester Bowie’s passing in 1999. Wilkes’ most recent release, Cries From Tha Ghetto, features his band Abstrakt Pulse, which is made up of other promising young Chicagoans. The tracks range from the wild, freely improvised “SICK JJ,” to the swingingly open “Chasin’ LeRoy,” and hit some spaces in between. Wilkes sounds right at home going from playing flowing lines with bravura in one breath to energetically abstract sounds in the next. Guitarist Scott Hesse has a sound that is at times reminiscent of Steve Masakowski. The credits list Jumaane Taylor on tap dance, and at the times when his presence is clearly audible, he makes a very interesting addition.

The words “young” and “promising” are often used to describe these musicians, and while the young can be heard at times, the promising usually shines through. This is a well-executed and stylistically varied disc that will be enjoyed, especially by fans that have followed the musical developments of Chicago’s South Side. This is one of the next steps in that development.