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Matt Mitchell, Linda May Han Oh, Rajna Swaminathan & More

By Ludovico Granvassu

From bass players leading cutting edge bands, to ensembles with strings; from electronica-infused projects to tributes to Sun Ra, Count Basie and Oliver Nelson; from multi-kulti to straight-ahead. This and more on this episode of Mondo Jazz. Happy listening! Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" Mondo Jazz Theme (Self-released) 0:00 Dezron Douglas “Negroidius Maximus" Black Lion (Self-released) 0:17 Host talks 4:47 Matt Mitchell “Stretch Goal" Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi) 7:07 Caroline ...

Call Me the Breeze: Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin Play Lynyrd Skynyrd

By Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius

"Play some Skynyrd." Anyone who has ever performed anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line has heard these words, usually yelled towards the stage by someone whose blood alcohol content is approaching whole numbers, no matter what kind of music they play or where they may be performing. When the inevitable happened recently to Dave Douglas and Donny McCaslin, who were playing a gig in Tallahassee, Florida, they both thought, “Yeah, why not?" Call Me the Breeze ...

Dave Douglas, Ken Thomson and More

By Bob Osborne

On this show we look back at the fantastic live recordings from the Dave Douglas Brazen Heart band live at The Jazz Standard. Also featured the new album from Ken Thomson and a further look at the work of Jerry Bergonzi. In between a selection of new and archive material. Playlist Andrew Cyrille “Worried Woman" from Lebroba (ECM) 00:00 Dave Douglas Quintet “Miracle Gro" from Brazen Heart Live at Jazz Standard (Greenleaf) 08:32 Ken Thomson “Passacaglia Ungherese" from ...

2018 Bergamo Jazz Festival

By Luciano Rossetti

Dave Douglas: From Revolution to Revelation

By Ludovico Granvassu

A bird's eye view of the artistic path carved over the years by Dave Douglas reveals both the density and the breadth of his interests. Like tributaries flowing through a complex maze into a sprawling lake, each one of his countless projects explores a different sonic aspect of contemporary music. Yet, they all move towards a common destination and are pushed by a single force, the quest for a personal synthesis that creates unity out of diversity. Ever the tireless ...

Dave Douglas: Little Giant Still Life

By Glenn Astarita

Dave Douglas has evolved into one of the giants of jazz. He's willing to take chances and expands familiar concepts, while possessing a signature sound and style amid all his technical gifts. On this release he charts a brass and drums course with the New York-based 4-man horn section and recording artists The Westerlies, along with ace drummer Anwar Marshall (Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fresh Cut Orchestra). Due to the all-brass framework I occasionally experienced a bit of listening fatigue, ...

Trumpet From On High

By Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius

I recently celebrated my sixteenth anniversary at AAJ with a quiet ceremony held in the mahogany-paneled Writer's Lounge at AAJ Headquarters in jny: Philadelphia. I'm not much of a cake person, but there were cheesesteaks from Sonny's and enough alcohol to get an entire fraternity through a regulation 30-day month. Commodore Ricci and my fellow member of the Southern contingent C. Michael Bailey were there. A good time was had by all, and most of the charges will eventually either ...

Dave Douglas and the Art of Festival Direction

By Libero Farnè

Dave Douglas' fame as a forward looking musician is well-known. His contribution to today's music scene, however, is not limited to his playing. Besides having pioneered in 2005 a unique model of musician-run label with the progressive Greenleaf Music, he has been artistic director of the Banff Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music from 2002 to 2012 and he is a co- founder of the Festival of New Trumpet Music which started in 2003. Since 2016, Dave Douglas has been ...

Dave Douglas: Dark Territory

By Mark F. Turner

Dave Douglas's second release with his electronic group High Risk is true to form of the trumpeter's modus operandi to avoid repeating the same thing twice. While Dark Territory is of similar species to 2015's High Risk; it is a completely different animal. Shades of Miles Davis's azure tone permeate the project but there are also a menagerie of hues, shapes and rhythms reminiscent of trumpeter Rob Mazurek's eclectic works. Even with the return of the High ...

Dave Douglas Quintet: Brazen Heart

By Dave Wayne

Leading a quintet whose debut recording, Be Still (Greenleaf Music, 2012) was an elegiac song cycle dedicated to his late mother, Dave Douglas' Brazen Heart, sadly, finds the trumpeter / composer in mourning once again. Damon Douglas, Dave's brother, passed away in June 2015. Yet, the overall tenor of Brazen Heart is completely different than Be Still and its direct antecedent Time Travel (Greenleaf Music, 2013). There are no vocals on Brazen Heart. Also, after many months of touring and ...

Dave Douglas: High Risk

By Mark F. Turner

A leading trumpeter and composer, Dave Douglas has never been content staying in one location for too long. Within his already diverse discography, he's produced imaginative music with numerous ensembles that include the intrepidly free Tiny Bell Trio; an acoustic-electric sextet Keystone; vivid reflections of Americana with his Riverside band. This time, he ventures once again into the realm of jazz and electronic music with the organic High Risk. Douglas presents a new quartet of likeminded individualists ...

Dave Douglas: There's Wisdom Everywhere in the Universe

By Dave Wayne

We're republishing this June 2013 in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of Dave Douglas's Greenleaf Music record label. When All About Jazz last spoke with trumpeter, multi-bandleader, teacher, composer, marathon runner, podcaster, and record label head honcho Dave Douglas in November, 2011, he was in the Ukraine on the last leg of a tour with the French accordionist Richard Galliano. We spoke about his newest musical project, Sound Prints, a quintet with saxophonist Joe Lovano and drummer ...