| Dave Douglas. He can play.
So I've been listening to alot of Dave Douglas lately--A Thousand Evenings, Freak On, Strange Liberation, Witness, Bow River Falls, Soul on Soul, the infinite, and a new live album he put out himself. I've seen him live a few times now, and I've noticed something:
Of course his writing is first rate, but I guess something I took for granted was his trumpet playing. I'm not saying it was ever anything but good or great, but lately, I don't know, his command seems spot-on. Especially, he'll be in his kinda bendy, flexible middle range, band then go up to high (high) G and play a disjunct line going down, all with the greatest of ease. I don't know. I really think it's great to be able to experience a top-notch artist in his prime. Maybe it just took awhile for me to notice his trumpet playing, because when you listen to him, you don't think "trumpet" right away, you're drawn to the idea, but lately, yeah... he seems to play from a great set and have really great response.
But I guess the key to great trumpet playing (other than in some settings or for an audience like this) is to not be noticed.
Anybody check him out at FONT? I wish I were on the East Coast... |