Home » Jazz Articles » Play This! » Dave Douglas: Energy Fields
Dave Douglas: Energy Fields
Two years after the eponymous album honoring Billy Strayhorn, Douglas continues his exploration of foundational jazz composers. On this new chapter—Transcend (Greenleaf Music)—he turns to Duke Ellington, drawing in particular from Ellington's Sacred Concerts, performed between 1965 and 1973.
Alongside inventive renditions of three Ellington pieces, the album includes striking originals such as "Energy Fields," inspired by the groundbreaking abstract paintings created in the 1970s by African American artist Jack Whitten. Like Whitten's canvases—where bold, seemingly independent gestures of color coalesce into a larger sense of movement and form—the musicians shape the piece through independent lines that continuously converge into collective momentum.
And so the Ellington thread comes full circle: Whitten himself had been deeply influenced by Duke, paying tribute to him in 1974—the year of Ellington's passing—with a slab painting entitled Black Table Setting.
Contribute to Play This! Recommend a favorite song, album, or performance and we'll share it with your fellow All About Jazz readers. Submit it here.
About Dave Douglas
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
