Award-winning trumpeter Dave Douglas pulls jazz and improvisational music out of the museum and into the 21st century.
by John Sewell
The description of jazz as "America's classical music" somehow encapsulates the inherent problems of the genre, circa 2001. Sure, jazz is an amalgam of American musical styles. Jazz musicians are definitely some of the most highly skilled players in any genre, and jazz compositions can rival any classical piece in terms of complexity, theory, and structure. And yes, the free-form improvisations of jazz can be likened to the process of creating visual art, especially abstract painting.
As a form, jazz can most assuredly be classified in the top tier of creative expression. And there's the rub. As with most other forms of highbrow art, jazz is relegated to museum status where it is appreciated by only a select group of elite aficionados. And like classical music, jazz is generally thought of as a traditionalist form.
But as in contemporary classical music, there are renegades in the world of modern jazz who are charting new sonic territories instead of rehashing old standards. New York-based trumpeter, composer and band leader Dave Douglas is perhaps the most noted of the new-school upstarts. The 38-year-old Douglas leads no less than eight (!) combos, all of which are headed in different musical directions.
Last year was a triumphal one for Douglas, who scored a triple play in the Downbeat critics' poll by being named trumpeter of the year, artist of the year, and snagging the jazz album of the year category for his album Soul on Soul (RCA Victor). Add to this a relentless schedule of touring with various groups, composing and recording, and you've got a portrait of the jazz artist as a very busy youngish man.
So, does Douglas ever think about taking a long hiatus? "Well, I've certainly considered it," says Douglas, laughing. "But I love being out here (on tour) and I love doing a lot of different things. And for these years, it's great to be out here playing. I think my composing comes out of the experience of playing live, being on stage and watching what happens in the moment. So it would be really interesting for me to take some time off and really get into writing. And yet I love performing so much that for the moment I don't really see that happening. I see that writing and performing go hand-in-hand really well for me."
Of Douglas' various groups, the five-piece Charms of the Night Sky (the group that will perform in Knoxville) is probably the most adventurous. The lineup of trumpet, bass, drums, violin and accordion isn't exactly common for a jazz combo, and the sounds emanating from the group are constantly challenging, yet not in an inaccessible way.
The compositions of the group's new album, A Thousand Evenings, are perhaps more similar to the small ensemble works of contemporary classical composers than to those of jazz artists. The brooding and opaque passages of the album bring to mind the works of Gavin Bryars, Michael Torke and Steve Martland, as well as the somewhat classically oriented jazz collaborations of Miles Davis and arranger Gil Evans (Sketches of Spain, Miles Ahead, etc.).
"Well, I think on this record [A Thousand Evenings] there is a classical influence," says Douglas. "The compositions are so involved and I really got into the possibilities of writing for these guys. The record has a really compositional edge to it. That said, we've been doing a ton of live shows over the last six months and the music has just opened up incredibly. It's really an amazing experience to see the music grow and to see the band really jump all over the open sections. So it's an interesting new zone for the band and it's great to see the music moving forward and possibly developing into another record."
Charms of the Night Sky's live performances follow a continuing evolutionary path. And Douglas says that in a live context, the compositions allow a surprisingly wide berth for improvisation within a seemingly constricted framework.
"There's a whole lot of room," says Douglas. "And actually, now that I think of it, probably a lot of the music on the record may sound thoroughly composed. But it may be that the improvisation is so integrated into the piece that a lot of the sections that sound composed may be improvised and vice versa."
Something of a prodigy from day one of his musical life, Douglas began playing the trumpet at age 9. His studies took him to the Berklee College of Music and The New England Conservatory. From there, it was a quick jump into the big pond of the New York jazz world, where he served as a sideman in the groups of Horace Silver and Vincent Herring, among others. He has also collaborated on and off with avant-garde sax player John Zorn. By 1993, Douglas had taken the helm in his own groups.
Douglas says the international scope of the New York music scene has perpetuated his experimentation with different styles and groups. And his constant travels provide experiences that inspire more composition.
"I like to be able to write for these different groups," says Douglas. "When we see each other is when we work together. And everyone I work with is a friend. So when I go on the road, it's like a bunch of buddies traveling together. And that keeps it fresh and makes it where it's not so much of a job. It's really like an ongoing artistic project.
"You don't have to leave New York to find out about the world of music. But that said, I have traveled to some really unique and interesting places and I've been lucky that the music has brought me there. I think for me it's more just the experiences in general that show me, as a human, the things that I can relate to."
Douglas can obviously relate to a wide scope of musical forms, as evidenced by the variation in his recordings. This process began early on, including popular music as well as the more predictable sources.
"I think from a very early age my mentors were recordings: Stevie Wonder and The Beatles, a lot of jazz artists as well as classical music. Then, when I moved to New York, I studied with Carmine Caruso." A world renowned trumpet instructor, Caruso played a key role in Douglas' development until his death three years ago.
Douglas enjoys interacting with young musicians, but his demanding schedule prevents much face-to-face contact with his disciples. Ever the innovator, Douglas created a website from which he communicates with young musicians. The site has received hits from musicians in far-flung locales such as Indonesia, Australia and Argentina, as well as from many followers in the United States and Europe.
"I've developed kind of a question and answer relationship with a lot of young musicians who are really thirsty for a knowledge about the new music that's happening in New York and how they can further themselves," says Douglas. "I haven't actually met a lot of these people. But the site has been great for me 'cause I don't have time to teach. I don't have time to be at universities giving master classes and clinics. So to be able to answer questions from young musicians —something I would have loved to have been able to do with Miles Davis when I was 17—it's really a great thing for me."
The recent PBS series, Jazz, has done much to focus attention on the music and its history. Douglas describes the series as touching, particularly the reverential commentary from other jazz artists about their heroes. However, he also feels the series presents jazz as a museum piece: a static, spent force instead of the expanding, evolving music that he is a part of today.
"What the series is missing is any commentators who can talk passionately about the living music," says Douglas. "The idea that jazz is dead and that the only way to keep it alive is to recreate the masterpieces of the past—that's something that I really can't relate to. I think that the music has always been alive. So it's frustrating that there was no one that could be consulted who could talk with excitement and love about what's actually going on on the street."
Perhaps ahead of his time, Douglas is breathing new life into a traditional form. His disparate body of work is infused with the continuous thread of creativity and innovation. But can music as wildly tangential as Douglas' really be jazz?
"Well, I don't consider myself to be a traditionalist," says Douglas. "I grew up learning the music of Billie Holiday and Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane and Miles Davis. But I always felt like I had to put that to a use. And I'm trying to take what I've learned and go some place new.
"I don't know about the labels for the music. It's so hard at this point. I wouldn't get into an argument with anyone about whether my music is jazz or not. But I think that it's almost impossible to define the boundaries at this point. Some of my records are quite clearly jazz; and I don't think that anyone would argue that a record like Soul on Soul is a jazz record. But a record like A Thousand Evenings where there's a lot of improvisation—there's also a lot of other things going on. So for me it's really interesting that it pushes boundaries and forces people to say 'Wait a minute—what am I listening to here?' But when all is said and done, you know if you go to a record store you're gonna find my records in the jazz bin. I don't know if that argument is of any value. But on a practical level, it's jazz."
January 18, 2001 * Vol. 11, No. 3
© 2001 Metro Pulse
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