Dave Douglas
Freak In

I discovered this excellent trumpeter while listening to the magnificent Masada, a creation of that "charming" John Zorn. In this "Freak In," we find Dave Douglas as the composer and producer of the entire work, really difficult to describe due to the variety of genres and styles that converge here.

As a starting point, for convenience, we could mention the father (or grandfather) Miles from the electric period, and then move away towards a more electronic contamination which, in my opinion, is one of the most successful aspects of the album. The tracks are varied and well placed in the lineup: from rhythms borrowed from electronics (trip-hop?) to music where the winds have a broad dialogue, from rock bases supported by the bass to Latin-tinged be-bop, from ambient layers where the winds converse amicably to avant-garde electronic percussions. In all this, Dave's trumpet rules, often accompanied by the sax.

An album of notable complexity as can also be inferred from the lineup: "Dave Douglas: trumpet, keyboards, voice; Jamie Saft: keyboards, loops, programming; Marc Ribot: electric guitar; Karsh Kale: tabla and additional drums; Joey Baron: drums; Romero Lubambo: acoustic guitar; Brad Jones: Ampeg baby bass, acoustic bass; Ikue Mori: electronic percussion; Seamus Blake: saxophone; Chris Speed: saxophone, clarinet; Craig Taborn: Fender Rhodes; Michael Sarin: drums." Musicians I had never heard and others decidedly more famous like Marc Ribot, who still hasn't managed to convince me; particularly in this album, I find him not very engaging, too hidden, how to say?... well, what I see as a flaw in a guitarist can become a virtue in a drummer, in our case, the great Joey Baron, precise and never exuberant. Instead, the classical guitar of Romero Lubambo is very beautiful, present only in the second track, played with good technique and passion. Interesting is the constant presence of Jamie Saft, an electronic disruptor in a positive sense, whom I would like to know more about. The other musicians integrate fairly well into the ensemble; while some like Karsh Kale with the tabla are always present, others like Ikue Mori are more in the shadows, mixing her electronic percussion with the sounds of Jamie Saft.

Overall, an interesting work, very well curated in terms of production and arrangements. Unfortunately, the weak point is the soul of the music itself, that is, the compositions. In my opinion, Dave has worked too much on the form and too little on the content. It might have been a deliberate choice or a consequence of the lack of creative ideas or compositional genius.