feature photo: Geoff Countryman
As a trumpet player of ample chops and a highly distinctive, affecting tone, Dave Douglas is comfortable thriving in the mainstream jazz realm, and he often does. But Douglas’ career has never been about being ‘comfortable,’ and he’s ventured outside the zone from the start, with the avant-jazz/classical outing Parallel Worlds. Sometimes, the experimentation took him toward electronica, like Freak In, or the Eastern European-influenced bass-less Tiny Bell Trio.
With Gifts, Douglas is into his fourth decade as a leader still trying out things others hadn’t thought of. That begins with the assembling of a quartet that resembles the trumpet/guitar/drums construction of Tiny Bell, but with a saxophone added. James Brandon Lewis’ saxophone, no less.
But perhaps the loudest signal that something new is cooking comes from that rhythm section. Guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang don’t come from the jazz world, they make up two-thirds of the Ryan Lott-led post-rock outfit Son Lux.
In actuality, Douglas’ ties to Son Lux go back at least to his guest appearance on their 2018 release Brighter Wounds and continuing that link by adopting most of the band for his new quartet is a sure sign that the trumpet maestro saw the group as much more than just another recording date. He brings players into his group to let them be themselves as he figures how to adapt to them as much as vice versa, all while maintaining his own identity. It’s a secret to Douglas’ long-running success as a bandleader.
For Gifts, this bandleader elected to play 60% of his originals and 40% Bill Strayhorn tunes; he also opted for a 50/50 split between performing as the quartet with Lewis and a trio without him.
“Gifts” unrolls with a good dose of jazz spirituality, and Bhatia brings some of that Bill Frisell texture to the table but also hints of Son Lux’s electronic washes (which also bear some resemblance to Frisell), especially as the song winds down. In doing so, the wind down ends up being the most fetching part of a satisfying song.
“Kind of Teal” — inspired by Miles Davis — sports a blues feel, or at least a blues strut. Regardless, Douglas knows his way around that sentiment and Lewis likewise carries out that notion without overemoting it. Somewhere in the middle, the strangeness bubbles up in the form of guitar and sax sampling and looping before a return to ‘normalcy’ at the chorus.
The low end guitar riff underpinning the simmering “Seven Years Ago” serves as a bass line that hadn’t been present (or missed, either) throughout this record. A free flowing section in the middle gives the horn players a chance to stretch their legs and a dash of electronics emanating from Bhatia pushes the sonic texture in the Son Lux direction.
The trio-performed “Small Bar” is an excursion toward jazz’s unbound, outer fringes — terrain that Douglas navigates with his usual discernment — but the Bhatia/Chang unit are revealed to be very poised within this element, too. Lewis returns for the roving “Goodbyes,” where the interaction between Douglas and Lewis is more prodigious than anywhere else on this record, and the track also briefly presents some of Bhatia’s best licks.
These are Dave Douglas compositions, but Douglas decided to further sully things up by planting four Strayhorn tunes in the middle of this album. The most famous one, “Take The A Train” goes first and in an inspired mash up, the guitar riff underneath resembles Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” When Bhatia and Chang take solo turns, they don’t exactly shy away from their rock inclinations even as the horns don’t wander from their jazz tendencies. But the clash of these two worlds work to make this cover sparkle.
The other Strayhorn numbers are played as a trio (Lewis sits out), putting the trumpeter in sharper relief against the Bhatia/Chang section. Chang slips a second line pulse underneath “Rain Check,” turning a highly swinging tune into a highly funky one. Bhatia’s shimmering guitar provides “Blood Count” a dreamy quality the melody is made for, backing Douglas’ moving, melancholy tone. The Son Lux boys eventually take the song into rawer, intense territory. The driving opening drums signals the rock intent of “Day Dream,” until Douglas starts to state the unmistakable lead lines, but neither sides gives ground to the other.
Whether it’s the new compositions, new takes on Strayhorn compositions or a rhythm section with a new approach, Dave Douglas keeps pushing forward fresh ideas with that same old vigor he’s had from the start.
Gifts is due out April 12, from Douglas’ Greenleaf Music.
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