Dave Douglas: Soul on Soul (RCA Victor 09026 63603-2).Dave Douglas: Soul on Soul (RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. Victor 09026 63603-2) Trumpeter Dave Douglas has finally landed a contract with a major label, but the music remains the same. On this outing, which Douglas produced himself, his band (Douglas on trumpet; Chris Speed Chris Speed (b. Seattle, Washington, 1967) is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. [1] He studied classical piano from the age of five, and began clarinet at eleven. In high school he took up the tenor saxophone and began studying jazz. on clarinet and tenor sax; Greg Tardy tar·dy adj. tar·di·er, tar·di·est 1. Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late. 2. Moving slowly; sluggish. on clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor sax; Joshua Roseman on trombone trombone [Ital.,=large trumpet], brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch. The descendant of the sackbut, it was developed in the 15th cent. ; Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956 in Philadelphia) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist Bernard Peiffer at 12. on piano; James Genus on bass; and Joey Baron on drums) plays music by and in the style of pianist Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz stride pianist, composer, and arranger. She was born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. . As usual on Douglas's "tribute" recordings, most of the music is by Douglas, but there are several Mary Lou Williams compositions; indeed, you can hear the whole operation shift gears when they come to the first of her tunes, "Aries," when everything seems to crank up a notch. There is certainly no denying the talent of Douglas and his band, but I still find this music easier to admire than to love. Somehow, everything seems just a bit too earnest. If, for example, you play a Dave Douglas CD and then put on a Nicholas Payton CD, you'll likely find that the latter just sounds more spontaneous, more swinging, and just plain more fun. Still, Douglas is a major talent, and Soul on Soul is an impressive recording. The sound quality is pretty good, and the liner notes are educational and worthwhile. This is a first-rank production all the way around, and perhaps most jazz lovers will love it even more than I respect it. If so, they will be head over heels. --KWN |
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