REVIEW Dave Douglas, United Front: Brass Ecstasy At Newport

Thursday May 05, 2011

From DownBeat Magazine

Dave Douglas, United Front: Brass Ecstasy At Newport
By Aaron Cohen

Six years ago, Dave Douglas conceived of Brass Ecstasy at the Festival of New Trumpet Music. The group released its debut, Spirit Moves (Greenleaf) in 2009, and recorded this concert the following year. Naturally, the unorthodox (though certainly not unprecedented) format lends itself to the sort of serious fun that Lester Bowie ignited: Along with Douglas, there’s Vincent Chancey’s French horn, Luis Bonilla’s trombone and Marcus Rojas’ tuba in front of the continuously inventive drummer Nasheet Waits. The live version of “Spirit Moves” on United Front conveys the inherent joy in New Orleans funeral marches layered on top of a slow-moving croon. That’s all before Waits adds a surprising twist to the rhythm. Along with the boisterous metallic interweaving throughout the album, the quintet delivers a fascinating low-end grumble on Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” The closing track, “Bowie,” is a retro-cool, and fitting, tribute to the brilliantly funny trumpeter who inspired it all.

Read the review online here

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (live)	7:32	Dave Douglas
Fats (live)	3:36	Dave Douglas

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