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Dave Douglas
biography, concert
and CD reviews
Article added in June 2000
Concert in the Alte Kaserne Winterthur,
April 20, 2000
Dave Douglas's concert with his sextet at the Alte Kaserne in
Winterthur was dedicated to the pianist, arranger and composer Mary Lou Williams
who is at the center of his new album Soul on Soul. The evening was
dominated by Dave Douglas' own compositions which gave a lot of space to the six
musicians for mostly short solo parts. In between, the sextet interpreted
compositions by
Mary Lou Williams, a woman who accompanied 20th-century jazz from blues to
swing, bebop and also Cecil Taylor, with whom she worked together in 1977. The
encounter is preserved on a famous live album. But as one can read in her
biography (by Linda
Dahl: Morning Glory. A Biography of Mary Lou Williams), she had no joyful
memories connected with the experience and refused a second collaboration with
Cecil Taylor because he had musically ignored her at the first concert and
egoistically played "his thing". Luckily, with the Dave Douglas
Sextet, such unpleasant adventures are impossible because the compositions
written by the leader are responsive to the musicians possibilities and gave all
of them room to express themselves. At the same time, his compositions never
disintegrate, they are not mutilated by excessive solo efforts. Dave Douglas
interprets ragtime and other motives of traditional jazz music in a contemporary
way. His orientation on the tradition is not as conventional (not meant in a
negative sense) and as harmonious as with Wynton Marsalis. Besides trumpeter
Dave Douglas, all musicians were able to convince the public in Winterthur: tenor
saxophonist and clarinetist Greg Tandy, trombonist Josh Roseman, bass player James Genus,
pianist Uri Caine and drummer Ben Perowsky. The six musicians offered a subtle
equilibrium, following the musical guideline and improvisation, of technical
brilliance and sensitivity. At the same time, they managed to remain in the
service of the general expression of the compositions.
Dave Douglas: Soul on Soul - Celebrating Mary Lou Williams. Sextet,
February 2000
Dave Douglas' new album Soul on Soul was recorded with his Sextet - a
group created in 1994. In that year, they recorded the album In Our
Lifetime as a tribute to Booker Little. Since then, all his projects with
the Sextet have been dedicated to a legendary jazz musician. On Soul on Soul,
it is composer, arranger and pianist Mary Lou Williams who is at the center. But
of the thirteen songs recorded, only four titles were written by Mary
Lou Williams: Aries, Mary's Idea, Waltz Boogie and Play
It Momma. The other compositions are by Dave
Douglas. The trumpeter took the music of the pianist Williams and rewrote it,
filtering out certain elements which appeal to his sensitivities: the orchestral harmonies,
the bluesy syncopation or the sophisticated gospel. In this way, Dave Douglas is
able to rediscover the works written by Williams and to give them a freshness
and originality by creating modern compositions. On the album recorded in New
York in 1999, one is surprised that there is little room for the piano (Uri
Caine) since Mary Lou Williams was a pianist. The instrument plays no major role,
with the exception of the composition Canticle. Therefore, the album Soul on
Soul is a tribute in a larger sense. The Sextet did not dare to touch the
masses and cantatas written by the devoted Catholic Mary Lou Williams - although
the compositions Canticle and Kyrie, written by Dave Douglas, are
an approach to her spirituality. Several critics consider Soul on Soul Dave
Douglas' most accessible recording yet. Get the CD from Amazon.com.
The Sextet: Dave Douglas (trumpet),
Chris Speed (clarinet and tenor saxophone), Greg Tardy (clarinet, bass clarinet
and tenor saxophone), Joshua Roseman (trombone), Uri Caine (piano),
James Genus (bass) and Joey Baron (drums).
Biography
The year 1999 brought impressive recognition to composer and trumpeter Dave
Douglas: in the Down Beat Readers Poll he was voted #2 Trumpeter of the Year and #3
Musician of the Year. In the 1999 Down Beat Critics Poll he ended up #2 Trumpeter of the
Year, #1 "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" and #4 Artist of the
Year. At the 1999 New York Jazz Awards he was voted Artist of the Year,
Composer of the Year, Daring Innovator/Explorer and Trumpeter of the Year. The JazzTimes
chose him as the Artist of the Year 1999. Jazziz and the Italian
Jazz Critics' Society also recognized him.
Dave Douglas was born in Montclair, New Jersey,
in 1963, and grew up the greater New York City area. At the age of five, he began
to play the piano, at seven the trombone and at nine the trumpet. He studied jazz und
classical harmony at high school. As an exchange student in Barcelona in 1978,
he was introduced to playing improvised music. From 1981 to 1983, he studied in Boston
at the Berklee College of Music and at the New England Conservatory. Dave Douglas
acknowledges Igor Stravinsky, John Coltrane and Stevie Wonder as his major
influences. In 1984, he moved to New York City where he studied the
trumpet with
Carmine Caruso at New York University.
From 1987 to 1990, Dave Douglas went on an international tour with Horace Silver, Vincent Herring, Dr.
Nerve and the Bread and Puppet Theatre. In 1993, he made his solo debut and
recorded the album Parallel Worlds which was released in 1994 by the Soul Note
label. A year later, Dave Douglas produced his first album under the name of his
trio: Tiny Bell Trio. Since then, he has been touring the world with his
own groups. He is also a member of John Zorn's Masada and plays on records by Myra Melford, Anthony Braxton, Don Byron, Uri
Caine, Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon, Fred Hersch, Mark Dresser and Tim Berne. As a composer
and trumpeter, Dave Douglas explores paths outside traditional jazz and experiments with
e.g. Hindustani music, mixing together Western and Indian
instruments. -
Jazz
trumpet sheet music. - CDs by Dave Douglas at Amazon.com .
Discography (album, band, year)
Leap of Faith, Quartet, 2000;
Songs for Wandering Souls, Tiny Bell Trio, 1999;
Convergence, Parallel Worlds, 1999;
Charms of the Night Sky, Charms of the Night Sky, 1998;
Magic Triangle, Quartet, 1998;
Moving Portrait, Moving Portrait, 1998;
Stargazer, Sextet, 1997;
Live in Europe, Tiny Bell Trio, 1997;
Sanctuary, Sanctuary, 1997;
Five, Parallel Worlds, 1996;
Constellations, Tiny Bell Trio, 1995;
In Our Lifetime, Sextet, 1995;
Tiny Bell Trio, Tiny Bell Trio, 1994;
Parallel Worlds, Parallel Worlds, 1994.
Dave Douglas also performs as a guest musician on a series of other CDs.
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Dave Douglas, trumpet. -
Jazz
trumpet sheet music. - CDs by Dave Douglas at Amazon.com.
Dave Douglas: Strange
Liberation. February 2004. Get the CD from Amazon.com
or
Amazon.co.uk.
Dave Douglas: Soul On Soul. Get the CD from Amazon.com.
Dave Douglas: A Thousand Evenings. RCA Victor/BMG, 2000. Get it from Amazon.com or Amazon.de.
Dave Douglas: Charms of the Night Sky. Winter & Winter, 1998. Order it
from Amazon.com or Amazon.de.
-
Jazz
trumpet sheet music. - CDs by Dave Douglas at Amazon.com.
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