At the end of February, noted trumpeter Dave Douglas arrives in New Orleans for the first time. While he is, of course, aware of the city’s musical heritage, he’s also tuned into its current vibrancy.
“For me New Orleans is a living center of music, not just the history,” explains Douglas, who digs in for a week residency at Loyola University and performs with his ensemble Nomad at Snug Harbor on February 24 and 25.
The 41-year-old, New Jersey born, New York state resident hits the city at a boom period of his career, having received accolades for his work on such projects as his 2003 Grammy-nominated album, The Infinite and last year’s superb disc Strange Liberation. For the last five years, he’s consistently topped Trumpeter of the Year Polls of jazz magazines like Down Beat and JazzTimes. Currently, Douglas is performing in support of his new, Mountain Passages, a debut CD on his new record label, Greenleaf Music.
The music, which was commissioned by The Festival at The Sound of the Dolomites in Northern Italy, stands as a departure from Douglas’ last outing that was straight-up burn. Here he employs a tuba and cello along with the more standard trumpet, saxophone and drums. As Douglas relates there was good reason for his choice of instrumentation.
Nomad debuted the composition at a festival held atop a mountain in northern Italy. Aware that he and his band members (as well as the audience) would be required to make the three-hour hike to the site, he made some modifications.
“That’s the reason there’s no double bass in the band because we had to carry our instruments up there,” Douglas explains. He also had to choose musicians that were both willing and able to make the trek. “I warned them in advance,” he says with a laugh, “but none of them took it seriously.”
Douglas enjoyed the format so much that he’s continued to use it. At Snug Harbor the trumpeter is joined by tuba giant Marcus Rojas, drummer Tyshawn Sorey, celloist Rubin Kobheli and reedman Myron Walden.
The relatively short tunes on the disc, which for the most part run between three and five minutes, were also a result of the mountain setting. “In writing them, I made this rule for myself that none of them would be longer than six lines of music because I was writing them on this postcard-sized cardboard music paper. You get up there and you’re in the mountains and there are no music stands and things just blow around.”
Douglas describes the disc as “a record about traveling.” The music moves as if traversing from lofty elevations as heard on the fun of “Cannonball Run” to the quiet dales of the meditative “Palisades.” The instrumentation suggests a classical mode that is interjected by Douglas’ penchant for creative music that is realized by his associations with guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist John Zorn.
On the educational front, Douglas, who holds the position of artistic director at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, calls himself “a road warrior.” He tackles the challenge without benefit of a teaching degree. “I like to talk directly from experience. I always try to think back on myself at 17 or 18 and what I would have liked to ask to someone out there doing it.”
Douglas considers two events as turning points to his now soaring career. In 1980 he won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. Often wondering if his music would ever fit in, receiving this award boosted his confidence to continue forward. The other milestone is of a more meat and potatoes variety. Until just a decade ago, Douglas took any gig he was offered including weddings. Finally garnering adequate work as a leader and sideman, the trumpeter was on a bandstand at such an affair on December 10, 1993 when he declared, “I’m never going to do this again.” “I went home and threw away my tuxedo,” Douglas fondly remembers.
RANDY WESTON
Some of the most exciting jazz concerts of 2004 were presented at the Contemporary Arts Center as part of the National Endowment (NEA) Jazz Masters Series on Tour that included memorable performances by pianist Ahmad Jamal and drummer Roy Haynes. The quality programming of bringing in “living legends” continues on February 26 when the CAC hosts piano giant Randy Weston heading his African Rhythms Trio. The group includes Weston’s longtime bassist Alex Blake and African percussionist Neil Clarke.
Weston is a powerful player and an international figure whose music reflects his years spent in Africa as a resident of Morocco. Remarkably, this performance marks only the second time the pianist has played in New Orleans since 1946 when, fresh out of the Army, he was touring with rhythm and blues man Bull Moose Jackson. In 2001, the 78-year-old pianist and his ensemble, which then included New Orleans drummer Idris Muhammad, put on exhilarating show presented by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation. It is altogether expected the master will provide an equally exciting and spiritual moving display at the CAC. More than just a musician, Weston is a musical ambassador, bringing the music and its humanity across the seas and back again.
“I’ve always considered our music African music,” Weston said back in 2001. “I have the chief to back me up—Duke Ellington. Duke said it, so if he said it I know I’m on the right path.”
