Dave Douglas (trumpeter)
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Dave Douglas (born March 24, 1963) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator. His career includes more than fifty recordings as a leader and more than 500 published compositions. His ensembles include the Dave Douglas Quintet; Sound Prints, a quintet co-led with saxophonist
Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...
; Uplift, a sextet with bassist
Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...
; Present Joys with pianist
Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began ...
and
Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...
; High Risk, an electronic ensemble with Shigeto, Jonathan Aaron, and Ian Chang; and Engage, a sextet with Jeff Parker,
Tomeka Reid Tomeka Reid (born 1977) is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher. Reid has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nicole Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, Mike Reed' ...
,
Anna Webber Anna Webber (born August 28, 1986) is an American photographer best known for her musician portrait photography, in addition to being an official ambassador for The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSSA) Her work has appeared in ' ...
, Nick Dunston, and Kate Gentile. He has won a
Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique t ...
, a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
, an
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
award, and received
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations. As a composer, Douglas has received commissions from the Trisha Brown Dance Company,
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, tour ...
,
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...
, Essen Philharmonie,
The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
,
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and Monash Art Ensemble, which premiered his chamber orchestra piece ''Fabliaux'' in March 2014. From 2002 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the
Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
in Canada. He is a co-founder of the
Festival of New Trumpet Music The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) is a nonprofit organization founded by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas to encourage aspiring trumpeters. The annual festival consists of concerts and workshops over a two to three week period in New Yor ...
in New York with trumpeter
Roy Campbell Jr. Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues and funk during his career. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1 ...
Since 2003, Douglas has served as director of the nonprofit festival. He is on the faculty at the Mannes School of Music and is a guest coach for the
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
Jazz Composer's Ensemble. In 2016, he accepted a four-year appointment as the artistic director of the Bergamo Jazz Festival. In 2005 Douglas founded Greenleaf Music, a record labels for his albums, sheet music, podcasts, as well as the music of other modern jazz musicians. Greenleaf has produced over 70 albums.


Early life

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Douglas grew up in the New York City area and attended
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
, a private high school in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. He was introduced to jazz by his father, Damon Greenleaf Douglas Jr., and as a young teen was shown jazz theory and harmony by the pianist Tommy Gallant. Douglas began performing jazz during his junior year in high school while on an abroad program in Barcelona, Spain. After graduating from high school in 1981, he studied at the
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
and
New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...
, both located in Boston, Massachusetts.


Career


1980s

In 1984, Douglas moved to New York to study at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, to study directly with Carmine Caruso, and he finished a degree in music. Early gigs included the experimental rock band Dr. Nerve,
Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...
,
Vincent Herring Vincent Dwayne Herring (born November 19, 1964) is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and educator. Known for his fiery and soulful playing in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Nat Adderley in the earlier stages of h ...
as well as street bands around New York City. He played with a variety of ensembles and came to the attention of the jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader,
Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...
, with whom he toured the US and Europe in 1987. In the late 1980s, Douglas began playing with bands led by
Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother w ...
,
Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said that ...
,
Marty Ehrlich Marty Ehrlich (born May 31, 1955) is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinets, flutes) and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz. Biography Though born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the portion of Ehrlich's youth spent in ...
, Walter Thompson, and others in New York. He played in the composer collectives Mosaic Sextet and New and Used. He also toured with theater companies including the world-renowned
Bread and Puppet Theater The Bread and Puppet Theater (often known simply as Bread & Puppet) is a Political radicalism, politically radical puppet theater, active since the 1960s, based in Glover, Vermont . The theater was co-founded by Elka and Peter Schumann. Peter is ...
and the Swiss ensemble .


1990s

In March 1993, Douglas got the opportunity to record his first album as a leader, '' Parallel Worlds'' (Black Saint/Soul Note), which featured his String Group with Mark Feldman (violin),
Erik Friedlander Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City. A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...
(cello),
Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed w ...
(bass), Michael Sarin (drums). The album is a collection of original pieces, some using serial composition techniques, and arrangements of
Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
, Ellington,
Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
and
Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
. This first recording was followed in quick succession by the debuts of two groups, the Tiny Bell Trio (Songlines) with Brad Shepik and
Jim Black Jim Black is an American jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas. He attended Berklee College of Music. Career His band AlasNoAxis includes Hilmar Jensson on electric guitar, Chris Speed on tenor saxophone and clari ...
and The Dave Douglas Sextet, with
Chris Speed Chris Speed (born February 12, 1967) is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Early life and career Speed grew up outside of Seattle and studied classical piano and clarinet from an early age. He later began studying jazz, took up ...
,
Josh Roseman Josh Roseman (born 5 June 1967) is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School. Roseman was born in Boston, and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Roseman toured Jamaica with The ...
,
Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began ...
,
James Genus James Genus (January 20, 1966) is an American jazz bassist. He plays both electric bass guitar and upright bass and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. Genus has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, hav ...
and
Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...
, which recorded an homage to
Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010
was an American
called '' In Our Lifetime'' (New World). This began a period during which Douglas recorded widely as a side musician and as a member of many new jazz groups. Douglas also began touring extensively worldwide both as a leader and as a side musician. In 1993, Douglas also began performing with
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...
in his Masada quartet, with
Greg Cohen Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades. Career Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, includi ...
and
Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...
. The group, which still occasionally performs, deals with Jewish and diaspora culture and heritage through Zorn's original compositions. As such, it is an amalgam of jazz, new music, klezmer, and purely improvised styles. The band became one of Zorn's most long-standing and popular ensembles, and brought Douglas wider attention. Since the mid-1990s, Douglas has led a variety of groups simultaneously. In 1996, Douglas recorded ''
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
'' with
Cuong Vu Cuong Vu (born 19 September 1969) is a Vietnamese-American jazz trumpeter. In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Vu was a member of the Pat Metheny Group. Biography Born in Saigon on September 19, 1969, Vu immigrated to Seattle with his ...
,
Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on '' Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', '' The Big Gundown'', '' Archery'', and '' Spillane'' and helped push modern Jewish music ...
,
Yuka Honda Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her ...
, Dougie Bowne, and other musicians of the New York downtown scene of the time. The group involved sampling and DJ improvisations in addition to jazz. In 1997, Douglas started a quartet featuring trumpet, violin, accordion, and bass (with Guy Lucevsek, Mark Feldman, and Greg Cohen) which recorded ''
Charms of the Night Sky ''Charms of the Night Sky'' is the tenth album by the trumpeter Dave Douglas.Roussel, P.Discography of Dave Douglas accessed July 21, 2015 It was released on the German Winter & Winter label in 1998 and contains performances by Douglas, Greg Cohen ...
'', incorporating sounds of Eastern European and Argentinian folk musics as well as jazz influences on the music, which is generally mellow and relaxed. The album included a number of tracks with Douglas and accordionist
Guy Klucevsek Guy Klucevsek (born February 26, 1947) is an American-born accordionist and composer. Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in new music, jazz and free improvisation. Klucevsek was born in New York City, and raised outside ...
performing as a duo. A second album by the Charms of the Night Sky group, '' A Thousand Evenings'' was released in 2000. Also in 1997, Douglas founded a jazz quartet with Chris Potter, James Genus, and Ben Perowsky. This group recorded two albums in this period, '' Magic Triangle'' and ''
Leap of Faith A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason. Overview The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...
''. Both were originally released by Arabesque Recordings, and have subsequently been reissued on Douglas's own imprint, Greenleaf Music. Greenleaf has also released sheet music containing all of the original compositions from these albums. This group further explored Douglas's interest in writing harmony for cordless groups and lyrical, accessible new acoustic jazz sounds. Towards the end of the 1990s, Douglas formed a Quintet with Uri Caine on
fender rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...
, Chris Potter,
James Genus James Genus (January 20, 1966) is an American jazz bassist. He plays both electric bass guitar and upright bass and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. Genus has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, hav ...
and drummer
Clarence Penn Clarence Lacquese Penn (born March 2, 1968) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Early life Penn was born in Detroit on March 2, 1968.Kennedy, Gary W"Clarence Penn" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxf ...
. The formation of this group coincided with Douglas signing a seven-record deal with major label
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
. Douglas also began to appear at the mainstream jazz clubs around New York such as
Iridium Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...
,
Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
and
Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
. His international touring continued with multiway residencies of his original works at festivals in Belgium, Italy, Poland, Germany, France and Spain. It was at the end of the 1990s that Douglas first visited the
Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
as a visiting artist, at the invitation of pianist
Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...
. A few year later he would begin a ten-year stint as the Director of the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music.


2000s

In 2000, Douglas released '' Soul on Soul'', a tribute to composer and pianist
Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
, featuring original arrangements of her music for the sextet and new pieces inspired by her work. Douglas also released albums featuring Charms of the Night Sky and the Dave Douglas Quartet in the same year. In the early years of the decade, Douglas worked often with the
Trisha Brown Dance Company Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia. Notable people and characters with the name include: People * Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983) *Trisha Baptie (born 1973) ...
. ''
El Trilogy ''El Trilogy'' is the 17th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the BMG label in 2001 and features music commissioned to accompany performances by the Trisha Brown Dance Company performed by Douglas, Greg Cohen, Mark Feldman, G ...
'', an extended musical work accompanying modern dance, was performed during 2000–2001. ''
Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
'', a nine-part suite, was released in 2001. It features a band made up of trumpet, sax, two electric pianos, electronic percussion, bass, and drums. Douglas' music had always been informed by his political concerns, but this album was his most ambitious attempt to give them musical form, often by celebrating his political and cultural heroes through dedications and track titles. The album includes a 20-minute track entitled "Mahfouz", in which gravel-voiced singer
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
reads an excerpt from the works of Egyptian writer
Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. M ...
, as well as pieces dedicated to
Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...
and
Taslima Nasrin Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist, and activist. She is known for her writing on women's oppression and criticism of religion. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh ...
. More recently, Douglas founded the Dave Douglas New Quintet and Nomad. The Quintet is a trumpet and tenor sax-led group but with Fender Rhodes electric piano. Their first album, ''
The Infinite Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...
'' (2001), featured Douglas originals and pieces by or inspired by musicians
Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...
,
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
and
Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
. This was followed up by 2004's '' Strange Liberation'' by the same group with guest
Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
on guitar. Formed in 2003, Nomad is made up of trumpet, clarinet, cello, tuba, and drums. With this band, Douglas performed his suite ''
Mountain Passages ''Mountain Passages'' is the 23rd album by trumpeter Dave Douglas and the first released on his own Greenleaf Music label in 2005. It features performances by Douglas, Michael Moore, Marcus Rojas, Peggy Lee, and Dylan van der Schyff. Reception ...
'', commissioned for the Italian Sound of the Dolomites Festival, and released as the first album on Douglas' record label Greenleaf Music in 2005. The suite features a variety of different influences including Italian Ladino music, New Orleans jazz, and other musics, and is to be played from 9 to 12,000 feet above sea level. Douglas also started a new band called Keystone, which performs works influenced by the silent film actor and director
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...
. The project includes pieces to be performed with Arbuckle's films. This ensemble is made up of trumpet, tenor sax, Wurlitzer (electric piano), turntables, electric bass, and drums. A CD of this music – accompanied by a DVD with two Arbuckle shorts – was released in 2005. 2006 saw Douglas release '' Meaning and Mystery'', where he plays again with his quintet, now with Donny McCaslin in place of Chris Potter on saxophones. In December 2006, Greenleaf Music recorded all the quintet's performances over a six-night engagement at New York's
Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
jazz club, called them ''Live at the Jazz Standard'', and made the two-hour sets the band played each night available for download from the company's website within 24 hours. The 44 compositions, almost all of them by Douglas alongside covers of Wainwright,
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
and
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
, featured 14 tunes not previously recorded by the band. Those 14 new compositions were released on a 2-CD set, '' Live at the Jazz Standard'', in 2007. In late 2007, ''
Moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
'', a further recording by Keystone, was released. This was based upon recordings made of a concert performance by the band at that year's
Bray Jazz Festival Bray Jazz Festival is an Irish jazz music festival that takes place in Bray, Ireland, on the May bank holiday weekend. The festival celebrated its 20th anniversary on 3–5 May 2019, and featured performances by John Scofield, Norma Winstone ...
in Ireland. The Keystone band then led a 5-night run at Jazz Standard in April 2008. Greenleaf Music recorded and released all ten sets through their website as a download-only series, ''Keystone: Live at Jazz Standard (Complete Book)''. In 2009, Douglas released two albums: ''
Spirit Moves ''Spirit Moves'' is the 29th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the Greenleaf Music label in 2009 and features Douglas band Brass Ecstasy. Reception The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "In sum, ...
'' by his Brass Ecstasy band which featured
Vincent Chancey Vincent Chancey (born February 4, 1950) is an American jazz hornist. Early life and education Chancey was born and raised in Chicago. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the SIUC School of Music in 1973 and studied under Julius W ...
, Luis Bonilla,
Marcus Rojas Marcus Rojas (born February 23, 1963) is an American Tuba, tubist from New York City. Early life Rojas was born in New York City on February 23, 1963, and grew up in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His early influences included Eddie Palmieri, Willie Coló ...
and
Nasheet Waits Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer. Son of percussionist Freddie Waits, Nasheet Waits is a New York native who has been active on the jazz scene since early in his life. Before pursuing a music career, he studied psychology and history a ...
; and his first album of big band compositions, '' A Single Sky'', a collaboration with
Jim McNeely Jim McNeely (born May 18, 1949) is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and faculty. Biography Jim McNeely was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and moved to New York City in 1975. ...
and the Frankfurt Radio Bigband.


2010's

In tandem with the 100th anniversary of the first Frankenstein film, Douglas collaborated with experimental film-maker Bill Morrison and released the 3-CD set '' Spark of Being''. Written for his Keystone ensemble, the set includes three related, yet subtly different, albums to accompany the Morrison film. The first edition, entitled ''Soundtrack'', comprises long-form pieces edited to accompany the film in real time. The second edition, ''Expand'', contains extended performances of the original themes from the soundtrack, arranged in a traditional jazz album format. ''Burst'', the third edition, consists of additional variations and unused outtakes recorded at the initial session. In 2011, Douglas released three albums within the span of five months through Greenleaf Music. The albums were released only in digital format and contained approximately 30 to 50 minutes of music per album, referencing album lengths of the LP era. Released under the unifying label of the Greenleaf Portable Series, or GPS, the albums showcased ensembles that Douglas may only "rarely get to play with" in some cases. The first album, ''Rare Metals'' featured Douglas' Brass Ecstasy ensemble. The second album, ''Orange Afternoons'' included
Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...
on tenor sax,
Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...
on piano,
Linda Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior Hi ...
on bass,
Marcus Gilmore Marcus Gilmore (born October 10, 1986) is an American drummer. In 2009, ''New York Times'' critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created th ...
on drums. The third, ''Bad Mango'', paired Douglas with the innovative quartet
So Percussion Sō Percussion is an American percussion quartet formed in 1999 and based in New York City. Composed of Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Cha-Beach, the group is well known for recording and touring internationally and for th ...
. After the bandleaders' intersecting tenures in the
SFJAZZ Collective The SFJAZZ Collective is an American jazz ensemble comprising nine performer/composers, launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ, a West Coast non-profit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. Collective activities The SFJ ...
in 2008, Douglas joined with tenor saxophonist
Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...
to form the co-led quintet Sound Prints with drummer
Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...
, bassist
Linda Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior Hi ...
and pianist Lawrence Fields. Inspired by the music of tenor saxophonist
Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...
the group debuted at New York's
Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
in November 2012. In 2013 the
Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...
commissioned Wayne Shorter to write two pieces for the group. Sound Prints premiered "Unknown” and “To Sail Beyond The Sunset” at the festival that year. The concert resulted in ''Live at Monterey Jazz Festival'' on
Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
in 2015. The group's second albu
''Scandal''
was released in 2018 on Greenleaf Music and it marked the first time the pair has recorded a full studio album of material together. The album boasts ten originals by Lovano and Douglas as well as treatments of two Shorter classics. Two tracks from the same recording session were released on a 7” 45 on green vinyl: On Pebble Street was a special release for
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
in April 2018. The quintet released their third album of original compositions
''Other Worlds''
in May 2021. The CD artwork features space-inspired artwork by celebrated visual artis
Dave Chisholm
Douglas released '' Be Still'' in 2012. The album featured Douglas' newly formed quintet of
Jon Irabagon Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...
on saxophone, Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums with the addition of vocalist
Aoife O'Donovan Aoife O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still and she also co-founded the Grammy Award-winning female folk trio I'm ...
. Dedicated to the memory of Douglas' mother, Emily, who died in 2011, ''Be Still'' features nine tracks, of which six are hymns and folks songs that she requested Douglas perform at her funeral. The same ensemble, minus O'Donovan, recorded and released ''
Time Travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
'' the following year. Inspired by 2005's ''Mountain Passages'', which the I Suoni delle Dolomiti festival in Northern Italy commissioned to be performed at a high altitude, Douglas initiated his 2013 tenure as the Monterey Jazz Festival's "Showcase Artist" with a benefit concert and hike at Glen Deven Ranch in Big Sur, California. The audience and performers alike hiked to a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean and then listened to a concert of Douglas' music. In celebration of his 50th birthday, Douglas launched his "50 States Project" and set out to perform in each of the 50 U.S. states throughout the course of 2013. The tour aimed to include performances in "unlikely and outdoors locations for people who might not otherwise have the same kind of access to live, improvised music as those in larger cities." The tour also coincided with the release of ‘DD, 50: Special Edition 50th Birthday Recordings’ a special box set that included three CDs (''Pathways'', ''Time Travel'', and ''Be Still'') and a DVD containing previously unreleased in-studio performances and art videos shot by Christoph Green. Douglas formed the collective ensemble Riverside in collaboration with tenor saxophonist
Chet Doxas Chet Doxas is a saxophonist, clarinetist and composer based in Brooklyn, NY. His work has been nominated for numerous Juno, Grammy and Academy Awards. Doxas has released a number of albums as a leader and has received accolades for his work as a per ...
, electric bassist
Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...
and drummer Jim Doxas out of a shared respect for Texas-born multireedist
Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
. The group's eponymously titled recording features originals by Douglas and Doxas, as well as Giuffre's "The Train and the River". The group's sophomore albu
''The New National Anthem''
was released in May 2017 featuring the pianist and composer Carla Bley. The album features three compositions by Bley, as well as songs by Douglas, Swallow and Doxas. The group played a number of concerts and festivals in the summer and fall of 2017 with Bley as a special guest, including two concerts in Quebec and a ten-date tour of Europe In July 2014, Douglas released a duo projec
''Present Joys''
with his long-time collaborator, pianist Uri Caine. The two explore the music of the
Sacred Harp Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South. The name is derived from ''The Sacred Harp'', a ubiquitous and historically important tune ...
tradition, taking on four pieces from the shape-note tune books as well as several new Douglas compositions undertaken in the same vein. The duo expanded with the addition of drummer
Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...
. The trio released ''Devotion'' in 2019, performing Douglas compositions inspired by Franco D’Andrea, Carla Bley,
Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
, and
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
. The Monash Art Ensemble (MAE) is a collaboration between the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at
Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...
in Melbourne, Australia, and the
Australian Art Orchestra The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is one of Australia's leading contemporary ensembles. Founded by pianist Paul Grabowsky in 1994, it has been led by composer/trumpeter/sound artist Peter Knight since 2013 and led by pianist/composer/producer A ...
(AAO), an improvising chamber orchestra including some of Melbourne's finest players also affiliated with Monash University. In 2014, Dave composed a set of music drawing inspiration from composers of the early 14th century French Ars Nova, most notably Guillaume De Machaut. Scored for four winds, four brass, four strings, and four percussion, including electronics, the music explores ideas of
hocket In music, hocket is the rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. In medieval practice of hocket, a single melody is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that alternately one voice sounds wh ...
,
isorhythm Isorhythm (from the Greek for "the same rhythm") is a musical technique using a repeating rhythmic pattern, called a ''talea'', in at least one voice part throughout a composition. ''Taleae'' are typically applied to one or more melodic patterns o ...
, and modal counterpoint as points of departure, mixing improvisation with timbre and structure in unexpected ways. The resulting album
''Fabliaux''
was released in 2015 on Greenleaf Music in collaboration with Australian label JazzHead. Dave first met DJ, producer and beatmaker Shigeto (
Ghostly International Ghostly International is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV and currently headquartered in Brooklyn, New York City. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye (a.k.a. Tadd Mullinix), Com Truise, Tycho, Gol ...
) at a
Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...
event that paired musicians in a series of solo and duet improvisations, and the two found some common creative ground. Following that collaboration, Douglas formed an electronic ensemble to probe the possibilities of improvised jazz and electronic music. Adding Jonathan Maron on electric and acoustic bass and
Mark Guiliana Mark Guiliana (born September 2, 1980) is a Grammy-nominated American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason ...
on electric and acoustic drums, as well as engineer Geoff Countryman - whose knowledge and skills as a musician and technician helped piece everything together – the group released ''High Risk'' in 2015. The group's follow up album, ''Dark Territory'', was released on LP as a
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2016 Exclusive. In the fall of 2015, Dave released Brazen Heart, an album featuring his longstanding quintet with
Jon Irabagon Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records. Winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and one of '' Time Outs "25 essential New York City jazz icons", Irabagon is known for the breadth ...
, Matt Mitchell,
Linda May Han Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior ...
, and Rudy Royston. The title track was commissioned for the Ecstatic Music Festival as a piece for large brass ensemble to be performed at the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
site in lower Manhattan, reimagined for a small group. Following a North American tour, the quintet played a week of shows at the
Jazz Standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
in November 2015. Recorded on the fly, each night's music was released the next day for digital download on
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
, allowing fans to hear the music with a remarkable turnaround. The complete set of music – four nights, eight sets, eighty-four tracks in total – was released as ''Brazen Heart Live'', an 8-CD box set.
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
compared the release to Mile Davis’ ‘Plugged Nickel’ sessions. In 2016, Douglas joined with French pianist Frank Woeste, bassist Mat Brewer and drummer
Clarence Penn Clarence Lacquese Penn (born March 2, 1968) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Early life Penn was born in Detroit on March 2, 1968.Kennedy, Gary W"Clarence Penn" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxf ...
to produce a cooperative album with support from the French-American Jazz Exchange
''Dada People''
was inspired by the
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
art movement and the work of
Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...
and his circle of artists. Douglas composed a series of twelve short compositions, each named for an Italian month of the year entitle
''New Sanctuary''
The 2016 work touches on his compositional process from 1996's''Sanctuary''. It challenges the performers to maximally tease out the implications of each idea, using their own personal vocabulary to develop and explore the music in fresh ways every time. Douglas recorded the music in a new trio with guitarist
Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wait ...
and percussionist Susie Ibarra. In 2017, Douglas release
''Little Giant Still Life''
featuring the brass quartet, The Westerlies. After encountering the group at Seattle's Earshot Jazz Festival, Douglas began writing music for group of ensemble improvisors, later adding drummer Anwar Marshall. Much of the music is inspired by the American painter Stuart Davis. Douglas’ 2018 Subscriber Series is entitled
''UPLIFT''
Subtitled, “Twelve Pieces For Positive Action,” the music was conceived by Douglas as a response to the tumultuous political and social climate of the United States and beyond. Featuring twelve new Douglas compositions for a new sextet, each piece highlights a specific social cause and references organizations doing important work. The ensemble, which came together to record the music in December 2017, features saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarists
Mary Halvorson Mary Halvorson (born October 16, 1980) is an American avant-garde jazz composer and guitarist from Brookline, Massachusetts. Among her many collaborations, she has: led a trio with and Ches Smith, and a quintet with the addition of Jon Irabago ...
and
Julian Lage Julian Lage ( ; born December 25, 1987) is an American guitarist and composer. Career A child prodigy, Lage was the subject of the 1996 short documentary film ''Jules at Eight''. At 12, he performed at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Three years later ...
, bassist
Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...
and drummer Ian Chang. Throughout 2018, a new track was released each month exclusively for subscribers with a CD coming out in December 2018. A descendant of UPLIFT, Douglas recorded a program of brand new compositions
''ENGAGE''
- as reactions and ruminations on hope and positivity. Douglas sought out specific improvisers and collaborators from different generations and backgrounds to deal with music that inspires, challenges and stirs to action. The songs were specifically built for this collaborative and dynamic ensemble including woodwind player
Anna Webber Anna Webber (born August 28, 1986) is an American photographer best known for her musician portrait photography, in addition to being an official ambassador for The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSSA) Her work has appeared in ' ...
, cellist
Tomeka Reid Tomeka Reid (born 1977) is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher. Reid has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nicole Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, Mike Reed' ...
, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Nick Dunston and drummer Kate Gentile. On some of the pieces, the ensemble is joined by trumpeters Dave Adewumi and Riley Mulherkar. The twelve pieces are built using the compositional rule of major triads, with each of the twelve pieces in the “song cycle” approaching these triads in a different way. The pieces were released monthly during 2019 to Greenleaf Music subscribers, and a culminating CD was released in December 2019.


2000-present

To honor the legacy of the great trumpeter, composer and humanist
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
, Douglas wanted to explore Dizzy's experimental and wide open mind as well as the influence of his music. The project started out as a concert program, assembled for a performance presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center in February, 2018. For that, Douglas assembled a sextet that included Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, guitarist
Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
, pianist
Gerald Clayton Gerald William Clayton (born May 11, 1984) is a Dutch-born American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader. Biography Clayton attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts; USC's Thornton School of Music, where he studied piano with ...
, bassist
Linda May Han Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior ...
and Joey Baron on drums. Douglas began to conceive of a recorded version of the program, although with a different set of players. In addition to Baron, Douglas brought trumpeter Dave Adewumi, guitarist
Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens (born 11 September 1977) is a Welsh professional snooker player. He has won two of the game's Triple Crown events, the Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been a two-time runner-up in the other triple ...
, pianist
Fabian Almazan Fabian Almazan (born April 16, 1984) is a jazz pianist and composer born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Miami, Florida. Biography In addition to being a solo artist,NPR.orFabian Almazan Trio String Quartet Live at the Village Vanguard Retrieve ...
, and bassist Carmen Rothwell into the studio. The resulting albu
''Dizzy Atmosphere: Dizzy Gillespie at Zero Gravity''
was released in 2020. During the global pandemic Douglas collaborated again with the Monash Art Ensemble in 2020 as a virtual Artist in Residence. Working with a 13-piece ensemble, the musicians workshopped five pieces that Dave composed with inspiration from the Australian writer and poet Kevin Gilbert, along with lyrics contributed by ensemble members. Recording online and remotely, everyone recorded their parts separately and the music was blended together after the fact. ''The Deam: Monash Sessions'' was released in digital format in March 2021. For the 2020 Greenleaf Music Subscriber Series, Douglas recorded a suite entitled, Marching Music. Subtitled ''Music to March By'', Douglas conceived of these pieces as music you could have in your headphones when you attend Climate Marches, Demonstrations for Equal Rights, Voting Rights Movements, and all other actions towards a just society. Featuring a special quartet with guitarist
Rafiq Bhatia Rafiq Bhatia (born 21 August 1987) is an American musician, composer, guitarist, and producer. He is the guitarist and fellow producer of the American experimental rock band Son Lux, having been a touring member prior. As a solo artist, he has r ...
, bassist
Melvin Gibbs Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Among others, Gibbs is known for working in jazz with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and in rock music ...
and drummer
Sim Cain Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both ...
, the ten pieces were released throughout 2020 to subscribers. Greenleaf Music also highlighted a number of important organizations supporting climate action, equal rights and voting rights
''Overcome''
is a Dave Douglas recording, alongside vocalist Fay Victor, vocalist and guitarist Camila Meza, bassist
Jorge Roeder Jorge Roeder is a Peruvian bass player and composer. He has performed and collaborated with many jazz artists including Gary Burton, Nels Cline and John Zorn. As part of the Julian Lage Group, he received a 2010 Grammy nomination for Best Con ...
, and drummer Rudy Royston, who banded together over a period of months to create a new album of songs involves the six musicians in an emotional and powerful statement of human engagement towards justice in numerous areas of society. The project began with a reimagining of the Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” featuring Victor and Meza each singing a verse before joining for a rousing final verse. As Douglas began working on the originals for the album, this unique communal vocal interplay became a key element of three more additional pieces. The album was released exclusively on Bandcamp in December 2020 in digital format. Via a successful Bandcamp vinyl pledge campaign in Spring 2021, the material will be released worldwide on Limited Edition 12” black vinyl and on all streaming platforms. In 2021, Douglas was approached by the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor to produce an online solo trumpet concert, which was live streamed in December 2021. Using some of that material, plus some additional performances online for Greenleaf subscribers, the albu
''Hudson Solos''
emerged, all tied to thoughts about the Hudson River. A number of the pieces were released to Greenleaf Music subscribers in 2021 as part of the Subscribers Series and a CD was released in late 2021.
''Secular Psalms''
is a new Dave Douglas studio album featuring a newly commissioned suite of ten pieces, inspired by and dedicated to The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
and
Hubert van Eyck Hubert van Eyck () or Huybrecht van Eyck ( – 18 September 1426) was an Early Netherlandish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck, as well as Lambert and Margareta, also painters. The absence of any single work that he can clearly be said to ...
– a polyptych originally painted for display in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. Commissioned by Handelsbeurs Concert Hall in Gent, Belgium to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Altarpiece with creation of new music. Drawing on Latin Mass, on early medieval folk songs, on composers of the period, like Guillaume DuFay, and on jazz and improvised music, Douglas and team deliver a lyrical, mystical, spiritual score full of upbeat optimism for our times. Douglas says the title refers to “songs of praise for all of us.” For this project Douglas branched out into new instruments including serpent, lute, organ and sampler, providing a painterly panorama of new sounds, and performed by group of international musicians: Tomeka Reid, Marta Warelis, Berlinde Deman, Frederick Leroux and Lander Gyselinck. The world premiere of the piece took place in Europe in November 2021 with performances in Gent and Brugge Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The CD was released by Greenleaf Music in April 2022.


Personal life

Douglas lives in the New York area, lectures regularly at The New School and travels frequently worldwide as a composer and performer. His daughter Mia was born in 1984.


Discography

* '' Parallel Worlds'' (
Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...
, 1993) * '' The Tiny Bell Trio'' (Songlines, 1994) * '' In Our Lifetime'' (
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
, 1995) * ''
Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...
'' (
Hat Hut Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, h ...
, 1995) with Tiny Bell Trio * ''
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
'' (Soul Note, 1996) * '' Live in Europe'' (
Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
, 1996) with Tiny Bell Trio * ''
Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
'' (
Avant AVANT, also known as AVANT street art guerrilla collective, was the artist group active in New York City from 1980 to 1984. By 1984 AVANT had produced thousands of acrylic on paper paintings and plastered them on walls, doors, bus-stops and gallerie ...
, 1997) * '' Stargazer'' (Arabesque, 1997) * '' Moving Portrait'' ( DIW, 1998) * ''
Charms of the Night Sky ''Charms of the Night Sky'' is the tenth album by the trumpeter Dave Douglas.Roussel, P.Discography of Dave Douglas accessed July 21, 2015 It was released on the German Winter & Winter label in 1998 and contains performances by Douglas, Greg Cohen ...
'' (
Winter & Winter Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label. Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by Da ...
, 1998) * '' Magic Triangle'' (Arabesque, 1998) * ''
Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...
'' (
Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...
, 1998) * '' Songs for Wandering Souls'' (Winter & Winter, 1999) * '' Soul on Soul'' (
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
, 2000) * ''
Leap of Faith A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason. Overview The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...
'' (Arabesque, 2000) * '' A Thousand Evenings'' (RCA, 2000) * ''
El Trilogy ''El Trilogy'' is the 17th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the BMG label in 2001 and features music commissioned to accompany performances by the Trisha Brown Dance Company performed by Douglas, Greg Cohen, Mark Feldman, G ...
'' ( BMG, 2001) * ''
Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
'' (RCA, 2001) * ''
The Infinite Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...
'' (RCA, 2002) * '' Freak In'' (
Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
, 2003) * '' Strange Liberation'' (Bluebird, 2004) * '' Bow River Falls'' ( Koch, 2004) * ''
Mountain Passages ''Mountain Passages'' is the 23rd album by trumpeter Dave Douglas and the first released on his own Greenleaf Music label in 2005. It features performances by Douglas, Michael Moore, Marcus Rojas, Peggy Lee, and Dylan van der Schyff. Reception ...
'' ( Greenleaf, 2005) * '' Keystone'' (Greenleaf, 2005) * '' Meaning and Mystery'' (Greenleaf, 2006) * '' Live at the Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2006) * ''
Moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
'' (Greenleaf, 2007) * ''
Spirit Moves ''Spirit Moves'' is the 29th album by trumpeter Dave Douglas. It was released on the Greenleaf Music label in 2009 and features Douglas band Brass Ecstasy. Reception The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "In sum, ...
'' (Greenleaf, 2009) * '' A Single Sky'' (Greenleaf, 2009) * '' Spark of Being'' (Greenleaf, 2010) * '' United Front: Brass Ecstasy at Newport'' (Greenleaf, 2010) * '' Three Views'' (Greenleaf, 2011) * '' Be Still'' (Greenleaf, 2012) * ''
Time Travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
'' (Greenleaf, 2013) * '' Present Joys'' with
Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began ...
(Greenleaf, 2014) * '' High Risk'' (Greenleaf, 2015) * '' Brazen Heart'' (Greenleaf, 2015) * ''
Dark Territory Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since t ...
'' (Greenleaf, 2016) * '' Brazen Heart: Live at Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2018) * ''Uplift - Twelve Pieces for Positive Action'' (Greenleaf, 2018) * ''Devotion'' (Greenleaf, 2019) * ''Engage'' (Greenleaf, 2019) * ''Dizzy Atmosphere'' (Greenleaf, 2020) * ''Marching Music'' (Greenleaf, 2020) * ''Overcome'' (Greenleaf, 2020) * ''Other Worlds'' (Greenleaf, 2021) * ''Hudson Solos'' (Greenleaf, 2021) * ''Secular Psalms'' (Greenleaf, 2022) * ''Degrees - Book 1 of Songs of Ascent'' (Greenleaf, 2022)


References


External links


Official site






{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Dave 1963 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Klezmer musicians Post-bop trumpeters Experimental big band trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz composers American male jazz composers Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Arabesque Records artists RCA Records artists Avant-garde jazz trumpeters Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians Masada (band) members Orange Then Blue members SFJAZZ Collective members Winter & Winter Records artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists