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Doug Webb: Bright Side
by David A. Orthmann
From one perspective, Doug Webb's Bright Side is basically twelve tracks clothed in very recognizable forms --a few varieties of soul-jazz, a couple of heartfelt ballads, a taut bossa nova, and an array of middling and up tempo straight- ahead swingers. Although the material is thoroughly enjoyable, it's tempting to succumb to a nagging notion that its all been done countless times before, and then simply move on to a record by yet another brave soul planting his/her flag in ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Sets The Standard
by David A. Orthmann
Doug Webb's newly released Sets The Standard is a textbook case of individual resourcefulness and group consonance in the context of songs often associated with the jazz tradition. For the most part, Webb, who plays tenor, stritch, and soprano sax on the record, puts his assertive, hard blowing persona on hold in favor of a somewhat laid- back, nuanced approach to the heads and to improvisation. It doesn't feel like a compromise or a concession to marketplace realities as much ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Back East
by David A. Orthmann
Back East, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb's second 2015 release for the Posi-Tone Records label, is not unlike a thirteen course meal in which every course is sublime, yet the portions are rather small and each dish is cleared quickly, leaving one with an intense desire for more of a particular flavor. Needless to say, there is a practical reason for the programming of short tracks on the part of independent labels attempting to release significant jazz recordings and generate enough ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb at The Turning Point Cafe
by David A. Orthmann
Doug Webb The Turning Point Cafe Piermont, NY September 28, 2015 The Monday Jazz Sessions, a fixture at The Turning Point Café since 2007, are a product of the dauntless efforts of series curator John Richmond. Among other responsibilities, Richmond books the musicians, publicizes the events, enthusiastically greets visitors, tends to the lighting, interacts with the staff, serves as master of ceremonies and, after a set by the featured artists, manages a jam session. One ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Triple Play
by Dan McClenaghan
Is there a better way to say “Jazz" than a wailing saxophone? Tenor sax guy Doug Webb has found a one: three wailing saxophones, a killer organ guy and a dynamic, full-of-surprises, rhythmic wizard of a drummer, on Triple Play. His fifth recording on Posi-Tone Records--a label that follows closely in the footsteps of the iconic Blue Note Records straight ahead sound of the 50s and 60s--Webb teams with fellow sax veterans Walt Weiskopf and Joel Frahm in ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Triple Play
by David A. Orthmann
As tempting as it is to simply consign a blowing session label to Triple Play, a three tenor saxophone plus rhythm date led by Doug Webb, there's ample evidence that something more disciplined and structured is afoot. For one thing, eight of the disc's eleven tracks are under six minutes--in other words, there's not a lot of room for indulgence, excess, or one-upmanship of any kind. The material, including striking originals by the leader, Walt Weiskopf, and Joel Frahm, as ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Swing Shift
by Jack Bowers
Doug Webb is one of a large number of accomplished saxophonists on the West Coast who have largely flown under the radar because... well, basically because they are on the West Coast. That's not to imply that Webb or his cohorts are penniless or not working steadily; that is not the case at all. Besides fronting his own groups, Webb--a graduate of the Berklee School of Music--works regularly in a number of ensembles large and small, and has appeared on ...
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