Jazz Articles about Dave Douglas

Dave Douglas: Strange Liberation

by Jim Santella
February 4, 2004

With an exotic title track that reminds us where jazz is headed, Dave Douglas and his ensemble of all-stars takes the listener on a tour on this Strange Liberation. With the kids in the back seat and a self-invited brother-in-law doing the driving, the family is all nestled in the SUV for a vacation of jazz impressions. From New Orleans, up the Mississippi River, out to New York, then back to Chicago, stayin’ a spell in Kansas City before heading ...

Dave Douglas: Strange Liberation

by AAJ Staff
January 15, 2004

In the liner notes to his superb new album, Dave Douglas makes reference to the parameters of his music, and the driving forces behind it, as his band explores the boundaries of freedom, playing music unattached to formula or dogma, and willing to risk failure. Douglas also says he'd been wanting to record with Bill Frisell since 1987. Now, in 2004, the great guitarist augments Douglas' Quintet for a wide-ranging program of searching, urgent jazz. And make no mistake, the ...

A Fireside Chat With Dave Douglas (2003)

by AAJ Staff
April 19, 2003

Not so long ago, Dave Douglas was touted as the crowned prince of improvised music. Sadly, this music is nothing if not tragically parallel to life and the irony of life is the same persons who lauded you are the ones to tear you down. But if you like the improvised music straight with no chaser, it doesn't get much better than Douglas, unedited and in his own words. All About Jazz: Happy birthday. Dave Douglas: ...

Dave Douglas: Freak In

by Matt Rand
April 5, 2003

Dave Douglas, whose 40th Birthday Celebration week at the Jazz Standard in March featured the trumpeter with many of his diverse ensembles, requests you put on headphones when you listen to his latest, Freak In. Well, it may not be Douglas himself, but someone requests you put on headphones, and also that you “call on world leaders to do the same."

What Douglas (and Bluebird's art department) is picking up on--with goofy phrases and deadpan pictures of ...

Dave Douglas: Freak In

by AAJ Staff
February 15, 2003

Wherever the boundaries used to be, they no longer exist. Trumpeter Dave Douglas doesn't believe in that sort of thing, anyway. The eclectic mix on Freak In represents yet another departure for Douglas, the most exciting record he's made in his career as a leader. The heady stew includes swing, hard bop, mellow jazz, Indian tablas, loose funk, deep rock grooves, electronics, and helter-skelter abandon. Douglas gained a reputation in John Zorn's school of postmodern reconstruction, but his recordings to ...

Dave Douglas: The Infinite

by AAJ Staff
October 15, 2002

This is a wonderful CD! Once again Dave Douglas scores big. It seems that this talented trumpeter just came out of nowhere and is suddenly upon us like a wild leopard. He deserves all the credit he gets.

I first ran into Dave Douglas at the 1999 Bell Atlantic 2nd Annual Jazz Awards in NYC. Dave Douglas was a new name--taking all the awards! He was standing beside me in the shadows, mumbling to himself how he didn't deserve all ...

Dave Douglas: The Infinite

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 12, 2002

When it comes to varied musical projects, trumpeter Dave Douglas seems to be almost schizoid in his zeal for not recreating himself. On a purely artistic level, that's a good thing. But for those trying to follow his career it can all seem to be a bit disjointed. You know, “I liked his last record, but what the hell is up with this new one?" That's why for me, and possibly other fans as well, The Infinite is the record ...