Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer and educator from New York City.
His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award and two Grammy nominations. Douglas has developed his work for several unique ensembles with whom he’s currently active, including his new quintet; Keystone, an electric sextet; and, Sound Prints, co-led with saxophonist Joe Lovano.
His new quintet released its debut recording, Be Still, in September 2012 with singer Aoife O’Donovan, the first time Douglas has featured a vocalist on a recording. The album received critical praise, with the New York Times heralding it as “gorgeous and contemplative” and Fred Kaplan in Stereophile proclaiming it “one of the best-sounding new recordings that I’ve heard by anybody in quite a while.” The follow-up recording, Time Travel, was released in April 2013. In it, Troy Collins for AllAboutJazz.com wrote: “the quintet soars…Unconstrained by thematic concerns, Douglas demonstrates his all-encompassing aesthetic, revealing a broad capacity for expressionism.” Together with a new sextet album called Pathways, Be Still and Time Travel were packaged with a DVD of studio performances and music videos as well as unreleased tracks and outtakes and released as part of a commemorative 50th Birthday Recordings box set in September 2013.
Since 2005, Douglas has operated his own record label, Greenleaf Music, releasing his own recordings as well as albums by other artists in the jazz idiom. Through his artist-friendly approach and innovative practices, he continues to prove himself a pioneer among artist-run labels.
Douglas has held several posts as an educator and impresario. From 2002 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at The Banff Centre in Canada. He is a co-founder and director of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2012. In 2013, he began his second year as International Jazz Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music in London and launched his own Jazz Workshop, dedicated to enriching the musical experiences of younger players.
“Dave Douglas is the unassuming king of independent jazz, a model of do-it-yourself moxie, initiative and artistic freedom.” – Frank Alkyer, Publisher, Down Beat
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