Dave Douglas Meaning & Mystery CD

Personnel: Dave Douglas (trumpet); Donny McCaslin (tenor saxophone); Uri Caine (Fender Rhodes piano); James Genus (bass instrument); Clarence Penn (drums).
Dave Douglas was one of the most consistently innovative jazz musicians on the scene in the early 2000s, and 2006's MEANING & MYSTERY finds Douglas's quintet regrouping for the first time since 2002's Miles Davis-inspired THE INFINITE. The ghost of Miles hovers over this outing as well (especially Miles's work with his groundbreaking '60s quintet), but Douglas's vision as a composer and player is always evolving, and his mixture of post-bop, fusion, and the avant-garde comes across as fresh, vital, and edgy. Uri Caine's Fender Rhodes bathes everything in a cool hue, but bassist James Genus, drummer Clarence Penn, and saxophonist Donny McCaslin (replacing Chris Potter) keep the heat high. Add to this Douglas's dazzling chops, sharp writing, and nuanced arrangements and Douglas fans are treated to another glowing gem of a jazz album.
Dave Douglas has been involved in a number of projects over recent years that have kept his fine quintet from recording since 2002. Meaning and Mystery showcases the band -- Douglas on trumpet, Uri Caine on Fender Rhodes, bassist James Genus, and drummer Clarence Penn -- with its first personnel change as tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin replaces Chris Potter, whose own star is rising and is too busy to maintain a constant presence in the group. McCaslin, who is less well known, is no less a player. His voice on the horn is unique, and his phrasing complex and songlike. "Song for Susannah" begins with a single note repeated on the trumpet before elaborating on it enough for the band to enter and dig songlike into its core in 12/8. Genus is a wonder here, shifting his solo around the figure, moving in and out of the lyric as Caine paints the backdrop with Penn, who plays around and through the time frame, never losing the band. The standout track here is "Culture Wars." Douglas has never made bones about Miles being a huge influence -- he even refers to it in the liner notes. Obviously, the quintet format echoes the great inconoclasts as well. But Douglas moves it into other areas. The open, relaxed, moody atmosphere of the cut begins slowly, reminding one -- perhaps because of Caine's Rhodes playing -- of Davis' In a Silent Way, particularly when the simple groove takes over. Genus' ostinato is infectious, chantlike, hypnotic. Douglas' solo leads off, and he swoops in and out at will, playing all around the simple 4/4 time before the song -- like heat -- rises. When McCaslin slides in with his solo, one can hear his own sense of deep lyricism, his attention to mode, and an authority that is all his own -- though one can hear the labyrinthine exploration of Wayne Shorter in his voicings as well. Likewise, Caine's solo -- full of nuance and color -- is strong, bringing a new focus to the Fender Rhodes in the current era. Other standout cuts include the cool blues nod to Tim Berne in "Tim Bits," the knotty "The Sheik of Things to Come," and the beautiful and simply melodic and airy "Blues to Steve Lacy." In the latter half, the shifting stop-and-start figures in "Elk's Club" that mix blues and bop with humor are wonderful. "The Team" is another blues, through a fractured one, also possessed of great warmth and some hard-swinging modal approaches woven into the hard bop frame. Meaning and Mystery is yet another album in the Douglas catalog that showcases his fine compositional and arrangement abilities, but more than this, it's the sound of a group in the process of continued restless development long after the bandmembers have found their collective voice. ~ Thom Jurek