Dave Douglas - Charms of the Night Sky (1998) FLAC

Tracks

01 Charms of the Night Sky
02 Bal Masque
03 Sea Change
04 Facing West
05 Dance in Thy Soul (for Charlie Haden)
06 Little One
07 Wild Coffee
08 The Girl with the Rose Hips
09 Decafinata
10 Poveri Fiori
11 Odyssey
12 Twisted
13 Codetta

Personnel

Dave Douglas: trumpet
Mark Feldman: violin
Guy Klucevsek: accordion
Greg Cohen: acoustic bass

Trumpeter Dave Douglas has participated in so many styles of music that listing them all would be mesmerizing. Some of his best work has been performed in free style and hard bop jazz groups. Here, he charts a different path, albeit one that he has pursued successfully before, in a mellow, lovely vein. Douglas is the only horn, backed by Guy Klucevsek's eclectic accordion, Mark Feldman's gloriously sweet violin, and Greg Cohen's acoustic string bass. With some exceptions, the dynamics are generally low, the tempos slow, and the mood serene. There is almost a post-minimalism to it all, capped by the exquisite sound of Douglas' trumpet. Often, the tunes (mostly written by Douglas) have an Eastern European flair, at times hinting at Klezmer or Jewish wedding music. The group's exacting technical skills eclipse limitations and transcend the immediate moment with gorgeous sound and forward-looking harmonies.

Steve Loewy