ITG 2005

John Irish, reporter

Highly acclaimed jazz artist, Dave Douglas, demonstrated why he is popular and in such demand on the jazz scene today. Accompanied only by David Berkman on piano, they performed jazz in a modern style for which he is so well known. Herbie Hancock’s Toys opened the night and set an infectious groove from the first note. Covering the entire range of the horn, his virtuosic playing, as well as Berkman’s fabulous piano playing, lit up the crowd. An original work of Douglas’, a world premiere in fact, Here Before, was inspired by walking around a place that seemed familiar. A contemplative piano introduction flowed into an introspective melody played by the trumpet. The wonderful contemporary flavor of the ballad was beautifully rendered.

Another new piece by Douglas, recently written while he was in the Canadian Rockies, Elks Club, was so named for the family of elks that lived near his cabin. The cup muted trumpet and special extended techniques appropriate for the scene added a very colorful touch. The duo played another new piece that Douglas had written in memory of a recently-departed colleague, Steve Lacy, a soprano saxophone player, Douglas titled it Blues to Steve Lacy. A simple flowing style permeated this poignant work with a major solo section for piano. Lovely lines from both performers clearly evoked a fond remembrance. Douglas was inspired to write his next piece from teaching his seven-year old son to play piano. He started by teaching his son Thelonius Monk’s Blue Monk. Based on the activities of his young son, the work, Skeeter -ism (in honor of his son’s nickname, Skeeter) begins with a quote from Blue Monk and includes music all about a water gun fight, watching TV, playing some tennis, video games—typical things for a seven-year old. Its fun and playful style was a hit with the enthusiastic audience.

In Wayne Shorter’s Anna Maria, Douglas’s Harmon muted sounds along with prepared sounds from the piano created a colorful effect. A driving ostinato accompaniment on piano coupled with fast lines exploring the full trumpet range resulted in a stunning passage. Gordon Jenkins’ Goodbye was added at the end and made for a very touching closing. The standard, Too Close for Comfort, set in a solid swing style, featured a long trumpet solo (unaccompanied) displaying Douglas’ incredible improvisational ability, wealth of ideas, and total command bringing a multitude of cheers from the delighted crowd.

As an encore, they prepared Wayne Shorter’s Aung San written for the Burmese woman Aung San Suu Kyi in jail for her advocacy of independence. The simple accompanying chords played very effectively off the soaring trumpet’s now thoughtful, now pensive pangs. Boundless creativity, wide variety of styles and techniques, and the textbook definition of modern jazz permeated the performance of this excellent duo.