Douglas Skyhawwk

Irish pianist Barry Douglas has largely avoided recording, but has made a substantial reputation on the concert stage. You'd think he might have cultivated a commanding, public style, but in this first-in-a-series album of Brahms piano works, he instead offers quiet, finely wrought interpretations. The programming concept itself is a bit involved, but Douglas pulls it off: instead of offering short works in complete sets, he picks and chooses in order to create a convincing sequence of moods and modes of expression. Here, Douglas sets Brahms' late works against broader works from earlier in the composer's career. His control over the Intermezzo, Capriccio, and Romance sets of Opp. 116, 117, and 118, is extraordinary, and few pianists have ever evoked so well the quintessential reaction to late Brahms: that when you hear the performance just once, you have an uncanny feeling of barely having scratched the surface. In Douglas' hands, the larger Rhapsodies, Op. 79, and the Ballade in B major, Op. 10/4, almost inspire relaxation: here Douglas turns up the volume and revels a bit in the melodies.

Dave Douglas Quintet - Time Travel (2013) {Greenleaf Music}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 354 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Greenleaf Music | GRE-CD-1030
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Trumpet

Working with the same quintet that delivered his 2012 album Be Still, trumpeter Dave Douglas returns to a more straight-ahead, if no less adventurous, jazz style with 2013's Time Travel. Once again joining Douglas here are his bandmates saxophonist Jon Irabagon, pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston. Absent is vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, who was the focal point of Be Still's hymn, folk song, and ballads approach. Here, Douglas is interested in a more angular post-bop sound that, while still evincing a modern creative vibe, fits more squarely into the jazz tradition than Be Still. Which isn't to say this album is staid by any means.

Dave Douglas Quintet - Brazen Heart (2015) {Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1044}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 403 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 155 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Greenleaf Music | GRE-CD-1044
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative / Trumpet

A few years ago the trumpeter-composer Dave Douglas released “Be Still,” a beautifully poignant album made in response to the loss of his mother. The album also formally unveiled his new band, a young quintet with the creative resources to hit the ground running. “Brazen Heart,” Mr. Douglas’s assured new release, showcases the same group at a more advanced stage in its evolution, as he again tries to transcend grief with art.