Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dave Douglas: Gifts

Dave Douglas: Gifts

By Mark Corroto
May 5, 2024
View read count

When does one become an elder statesman in jazz? Is it a function of age? Awards? Discography? While that question is up for debate, it is beyond doubt that

Dave Douglas

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Douglas is an ��minence grise, except one who definitely does not work behind the scenes. When did he achieve this status? Was it when he was awarded a Guggenheim? Or the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award? Maybe it was when he started the label Greenleaf Music. A better case can be made by citing his recorded output as a leader. We can go all the way back to his Tiny Bell Trio, Songs Of The Night Sky, and Keystone recordings to cite him as an elder, by that I mean patriarch.

Douglas enlists musicians two and nearly three decades his junior to create Gifts. Douglas' trumpet is joined by guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer

Ian Chang

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Ian Chang from the post-rock outfit Son Lux, plus tenor saxophonist

James Brandon Lewis

saxophone, tenor
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">James Brandon Lewis. What might have been a peccadillo a few decades ago—that is, the use of rock musicians by a jazz artist (cough, cough "fusion" more coughing)—is common today. Lewis recorded the heavy electric/funk free An UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch, 2019) and can be heard on the latest from The Messthetics, made up of ex-members of the punk band Fugazi.

With Gifts, Bhatia and Chang bring their experimental sound to a jazz recording. Douglas composed six of the ten tracks with an addition of four

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn cover songs, three of which are heard as a trio, plus "Take The A Train" with Lewis' tenor saxophone. The latter track hints at a rock pulse, that might irk a traditionalist, but is rescued by the Douglas/Lewis front line and the light crunch of Bhatia's guitar. Strayhorn's "Blood Count" builds upon Douglas' opening trumpet statement into a guitar/drums crescendo. Bhatia's guitar effects are featured on tracks such as "Seven Years Ago" and "Small Bar." Both tracks edge outward, yet remain within the jazz idiom with alternately Lewis' saxophone and Douglas' trumpet technique. The push and pull here are hallmarks of not only youthful explorations, but the wisdom of a jazz elder statesman.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Gifts; Kind of Teal; Take the 'A' Train; Rain Check; Blood Count; Day Dream; Seven Years Ago; Small Bar; Third Dream; Goodbyes.

Personnel

Dave Douglas

trumpet

Rafiq Bhatia

guitar

James Brandon Lewis

saxophone, tenor

Ian Chang

drums

Album information

Title: Gifts | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Greenleaf Music

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Inspired by Water
< Previous

Ryosuke Kojima, Nicholas Folmer, L'C...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.