Photo by Andrea Canter

One of the most prolific artists in jazz today, trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas at 43 has already generated an incredible legacy of music, recording over twenty CDs (2 Grammy nominations), performing with ten different ensembles, and now launching his own label. Somehow Douglas has time to tour with his ferocious quintet, and this spring that tour moves West to East, with stops at the Jazz Bakery in LA (April 20-23), Yoshi’s in Oakland (April 25-26), at Chicago’s Green Mill (April 28-29), the Dakota in Minneapolis (April 30), the Village Vanguard in New York (May 2-7), and the Regatta Bar in Cambridge (May 10-11).

Growing up in the New York metro area, Dave Douglas started out on piano at age five and progressed to trombone before finding his destiny in the trumpet at age nine. Introduced to jazz in high school, he first seriously studied improvisation while living in Barcelona as an exchange student. In the early 1980s, he studied at Berklee and the New England Conservatory of Music, then moved to NYU where he studied trumpet and began playing around town with jazz, funk, and experimental music ensembles. In the late 80s, Douglas toured around the world with such artists as Horace Silver, Vincent Herring, Tim Berne, Don Byron, Dr. Nerve, and the Bread and Puppet Theater.

Photo by Jimmy Katz

Since 1990, Dave Douglas has concentrated on composing and leading a wide range of ensembles, including the Tiny Bell Trio, Charms of the Night Sky, Witness, Parallel Worlds, Sanctuary, Nomad, and his quartet, quintet, and sextet (Keystone). Since 1993, Dave has released 23 albums of his original music, and has appeared on over one hundred recordings. At one time or another he has been named Trumpeter of the Year by Down Beat critics, Jazz Times readers, and the Jazz Journalists Association, Artist of the Year by Jazz Times and the Italian Jazz Critics Society, Composer of the Year by Down Beat, and has issued numerous “best of the year” recordings. Dave has composed numerous commissioned works for music ensembles, ballet companies, and individual artistis such as Andy Bey. In addition to his role as leader, Douglas has been a member of John Zorn’s Masada, serves as artistic director of the Banff International Jazz Workshop, and is co-curator of the Festival of New Trumpet Music. A 2005 Guggenheim Fellow, Douglas recently launched his own record label, Greenleaf Music.

This month, Dave Douglas is releasing Meaning and Mystery with his current quintet, featuring Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, James Genus, and Clarence Penn.

Tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, son of a jazz pianist/vibist, grew up in Santa Cruz. He began sax studies at 12, eventually enrolling at Berklee where he first impressed Gary Burton, with whom he toured for four years. After moving to New York, McCaslin worked with Eddie Gomez before joining Mike Manieri and Steps Ahead. In addition to his work with Dave Douglas, McCaslin has performed with Pat Metheny, Brian Blade, Tom Harrell, John Pattitucci, Billy Hart, Bebel Gilberto, New York Voices, Gil Evans Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Dave Binney, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He also appears regularly with his own band at New York City’s 55 Bar.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Keyboard titan Uri Caine grew up in Philadelphia, where he played in bands lead by Philly Joe Jones, Hank Mobley, Johnny Coles, Mickey Roker, Odean Pope, Jymmie Merritt, Bootsie Barnes and Grover Washington. After studying music compostion at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to New York where he has combined jazz and classical music, rearranging Mahler, Wagner, Schumann and Beethoven. In addition to composing and recording, Caine has performed with Don Byron, Clark Terry, Rashid Ali, Sam Rivers, the Woody Herman Band, Annie Ross, and the Master Musicians of Jajouka, anong others, and has received grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Foundation.

James Genus is a native of Hampton, Virginia. He started bass studies at 13, and played with Ellis Marsalis while still a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. On both acoustic and electric bass, Genus has performed with The Brecker Brothers, Roy Haynes, Horace Silver, Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby, David Sanborn, Don Pullen, Nat Adderley, Bob Berg, Bob James, and Steps Ahead, where he met Donny McCaslin.

Clarence Penn, photo by Alex Solca

Catch this amazing group of improvisers at a jazz club near you this spring!
“Trumpet player Dave Douglas is a phenomenon - not so much part of a new wave as an entire movement by himself.”—John Walters, The Guardian

The Dave Douglas Quintet will be in Los Angeles at the Jazz Bakery, April 20-23 (www.jazzbakery.com); at Yoshi’s in Oakland at Jack London Square, April 25-26 ( www.yoshis.com); moving to the Midwest, the Quintet heads to the Green Mill in Chicago, April 28-29 ( www.greenmilljazz.com); and then to Minneapolis for one night at the Dakota on April 30 ( www.dakotacooks.com); on the east coast, Dave Douglas and company will do a week at the Village Vanguard in New York, May 2-7 ( www.villagevanguard.com) and then up to the Boston area at the Regatta Bar, May 10-11 ( www.regattabarjazz.com).