Dave Douglas: The Infinite (2002)

Scott Thompson is Assistant Director of Public Relations for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has penned the liner notes for Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and Weather Report's 8:30. He has also contributed to Down Beat, Jazz Times and Jazziz.

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Published: October 15, 2002

This is a wonderful CD! Once again Dave Douglas scores big. It seems that this talented trumpeter just came out of nowhere and is suddenly upon us like a wild leopard. He deserves all the credit he gets.

I first ran into Dave Douglas at the 1999 Bell Atlantic 2nd Annual Jazz Awards in NYC. Dave Douglas was a new name—taking all the awards! He was standing beside me in the shadows, mumbling to himself how he didn't deserve all these awards. He didn't know I was there. His humility moved me. He was up against the likes of Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes and many other legends in certain categories—and winning!

One listen to The Infinite and you'll see why Dave Douglas has become one of the most talked about names in jazz today. You can hear the Miles influence. He's not trying to sound like Miles, but he definitely offers a respectful nod in his direction. (The inside liner notes express "An infinite THANK YOU to Miles Davis.")

You can hear shades of "In A Silent Way" on this one. There's a very cool version of "Penelope"—slow, thoughtful and swingin'. Douglas' trumpet works well with the tenor saxophone of Chris Potter. Nice stuff.

With a bunch of young trumpet players on the scene today, Dave Douglas is establishing himself—CD by CD. (Roy Hargrove is the other outstanding trumpeter picking up where others have left off.) Keep an eye out for Douglas, should he come to your town. Get a ticket.

Track Listing: Poses, The Infinite, Penelope, Crazy Games, Waverly, Yorke, Unison, Deluge, Argo

Personnel: Dave Douglas: Trumpet, Chris Potter: Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Uri Caine: Fender Rhodes, James Genus: Bass, Clarence Penn: Drums.

Record Label: Bluebird
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream