Esteemed trumpeter and local luminary Hugh Ragin is arguably the area's most accomplished jazz performer, if not its most active. The Fort Collins-based educator is a traditionalist, equally at home fast-boppin' as he is dabbling with neo-swing, rendering a soulful ballad, or flat-out improvising. Combining a freethinker's multi-layered sensibility with simple monster chops, Ragin has spanned collaborating with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra to composing electronic pieces for Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening Band. A recent tribute to Philly horn-blower Lee Morgan plus the exquisite release of An Afternoon in Harlem made 1999 a memorable year for the ever-widening support of Raginomics.