Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Larry Douglas Alltet: Dedications

33

The Larry Douglas Alltet: Dedications

By

View read count
The Larry Douglas Alltet: Dedications
An Alltet is apparently two groups, one with eleven musicians, the other with six. At least that is the case on trumpeter Larry Douglas' reissued debut album, Dedications, on the first half of which he leads a tentet (and auxiliary percussionist), on the second half a sextet. The dedications, Douglas writes, are to his late son, Josquin Xavier Douglas, and two of his son's aunts. No more is said about that aside from the fact that his son's passing happened in 1973. He must have been young, as Douglas says the second track, "Untitled," bears the name "because I didn't know what my son would have become."

Before appraising the music, it should be noted that Dedications was released in 1985 and is being reissued on vinyl by Tidal Waves Music. The CD version is on San Francisco's Swajola Musique label. The opening "Dedications (Theme)" is more celebration than requiem, driving earnestly ahead on the wings of buoyant Latin rhythms and brash solos by flutist David Masucci and guitarist Joshua Workman. Masucci returns to share the stage with Workman and organist Ron Weinstein on the carefree waltz, "Untitled," after which the larger group bows out with the funky "Jammin' in the 'Boro," a salute to Douglas' hometown, Statesboro, GA, that enfolds heated solos by Workman, Masucci, bassist Charles Thomas, tenor Ronald Wilson, Douglas (overdubbed on trumpet/flugel) and more stalwart work by the rhythm section, anchored by drummer Chris Corrigan, conguero Kamau Seitu and percussionist Marcos Torres.

The sextet enters the picture on "Illusions," a medium-tempo modal theme whose earnest solos are by Wilson, Douglas, pianist Eric Vaughn and bassist James Lewis, continues through the low-key ballad "Traces" (solos by Douglas, Wilson—on baritone—and Vaughn) and wraps the session with "Dedications (the Variation)," another Latin-inspired flag-waver that showcases Vaughn, Douglas, Lewis and Wilson (on tenor). Seitu is the sextet's drummer, and he never misses a beat. Douglas, who wrote and arranged everything, packs an abundance of vigor and variety into Dedications, more than enough to underline his purpose. Earnest, straight-ahead jazz whose message is one of happiness and hope, not sorrow or loss.

Track Listing

Dedications (the Theme); Untitled; Jammin’ at the ‘Boro; Illusions; Traces; Dedications (the Variation).

Personnel

Ronald Wilson
saxophone, tenor
Ray Williams
keyboards
Ron Weinstein
organ, Hammond B3
Kamau Seitu
congas
Marcos Torres
percussion
Muata Omowale
percussion
James Lewis
bass, acoustic

Album information

Title: Dedications | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Swajola Rekords

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.