Dave Douglas: Dizzy Atmosphere
Greenleaf Music

Through the auspices of his Greenleaf Music label and others, Dave Douglas has done much to honour the legacies of his forebears, the trumpeter having paid tribute to Wayne Shorter, Booker Little, and Mary Lou Williams on earlier releases. Dizzy Atmosphere finds him honouring John “Dizzy” Gillespie, Charlie Parker's one-time partner-in-crime and a figure forever associated with bebop's origins. The prospect of tackling such a project had to have been daunting, even for someone of Douglas's calibre, and it could have gone wrong in any number of ways. Smartly, he fashioned a release that's inspired by Gillespie as opposed to one conceived as a modern-day imitation. Yes, two of his originals are covered, but the album's more informed by his spirit than his particular playing style. Dizzy Atmosphere consequently plays like a sincere homage by musicians engaged in upholding the forward-thinking sensibility of the legend.

Douglas regularly surrounds himself with great partners, and this one's no exception. Sharing the front-line with him is trumpeter Dave Adewumi, and complementing them are pianist Fabian Almazan, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Carmen Rothwell, and drummer Joey Baron. Laid down at The Bunker Studios in Brooklyn last September 2nd, the recording is a natural outgrowth of the concert Douglas delivered at Lincoln Center in February 2018, even though the spots occupied by Bill Frisell, Amrose Akinmusire, Gerald Clayton, and Linda May Han Oh are held by others. The inclusion of up-and-comers Adewumi and Rothwell replicates Dizzy's own habit of mentoring younger musicians, Lee Morgan and Fats Navarro among them.

The level of musicianship displayed is one of the key selling-points. The trumpeters complement one another superbly. Never does it feel like they're competing; instead, the impression created is of simpatico players enhancing each other. At the same time, there's never a sense that either is holding back, with both confidently contributing dynamic, cogent solos to the project. If Stevens is a less distinctive stylist than Frisell, his textural contributions enhance the ensemble (e.g., the shimmering chords that add atmosphere to “See Me Now”), and his solos provide pleasing contrast to the horns. No slouch in the soloing department, Almazan swings mightily when the opportunity arises (see the rousing turn he takes during “Con Almazan,” for example), and Baron is his usual inimitable self. Powering the sextet with imagination, he and Rothwell provide high-energy thrust in a way that no doubt helped elevate the others' performances.

Co-written by Gillespie, Chano Pozo, and Gil Fuller in 1947, “Manteca” revisits the trumpeter's foray into Afro-Cuban jazz with an infectiously hard-grooving update. “Pickin' the Cabbage,” which Gillespie wrote for the Cab Calloway Orchestra, swings with old-school fervour and draws from the trumpeters some of their most free-spirited playing. The influence of other artists also seeps into the recording. Whereas “Mondrian” obviously pays homage to the Dutch abstract painter (his 1942 work Broadway Boogie-Woogie an additional reference point), a graceful, floating quality infuses “Con Almazan” in a way that recalls Nefertiti-era Miles more than anything Gillespie-related. As effective as the cover treatments are, it's ultimately Douglas originals such as “Con Almazan,” “Mondrian,” and the heartfelt “We Pray” that recommend the release most.

June 2020