Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano Sound Prints Quintet at the Bass Concert Hall

Good thing I read the Chronicle

Living in Austin, I have a weekly ritual where I make sure to obtain an Austin Chronicle on Thursday, and check the local music listings. Fortunately, I just happened to spot a Jazz show at the Bass Concert Hall, for the Dave Douglas and Joe Lovano quintet, on Friday night.

I had to go to this show, because I know Dave. He was in fact, indirectly responsible for helping me find my Jazz piano teacher and mentor, John Esposito back in 1987. I worked with one of his trumpet students, and Dave and John were working together in the band, Second Sight.

Over the remaining 5 years that I lived in the Mid-Hudson Valley, I saw Dave perform with multiple bands, and as part of the FM Artists Coalition in Woodstock, NY. (The FM Coalition was primarily a series of multi-medium, House Shows long before anyone had conceived of the term, House Concert).

I arrived at the Bass about an hour early, and had to wait to enter the hall. They are pretty strict about not allowing photos during the show, so I took this one of the empty stage beforehand.

The members of the band included:

• Joe Lovano - Saxophone
• Dave Douglas - Trumpet
• Lawrence Fields - Piano
• Linda Oh - Bass
• Joey Baron - Drums

The musicianship of this quintet was exceptional. It was a real treat to hear a group playing Jazz at this level.

They played a single set, which lasted about 90 minutes, and at one point of the show, Joe and Dave did share the mic and announce the first group of songs. They neglected or forgot to repeat this later for the remainder of the program. My understanding is that the music selected was inspired by Wayne Shorter, and I heard various homages to Shorter's work hidden within these original compositions.

The following list is an incomplete set list of what they played:

• Sounds Prints (Lovano)
• Sprints (Douglas)
• Dream State (Douglas)
• Weather Man (Lovano)
• Ups and Downs (Douglas)
• Mystic
• High Noon
• Power Ranger (Douglas)
• Be Breath (?)

After the show, I was able to track down Dave, say hello, and get a CD signed. I also discovered that he has played Austin quite often, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for future shows.

Samples

Although not from this show, I found this link on the NPR site of the quintet playing at the Village Vanguard, in NYC.