Dave Douglas in the festival season

Dave Douglas is "artist in residence" of this year's Jazz Baltica Festival in Northern Germany. He tells Oliver Stenzel in a phone conversation that he is just preparing the Randy Weston project he plans to perform in Salzau ( Kieler Nachrichten ). The trumpeter explains his wide stylistic range by pointing out his curiosity and the fact that he doesn't like to repeat himself. He thinks that pieces from the current pop repertoire one day will be part of the standard jazz canon. Somehow the 70s and 80s of jazz history have been neglected, which is one reason why he likes to relate to this period in his music. As for Stanley Crouch's criticism that he is well-liked among white musicians because he liberates jazz from its African American traditions, Douglas counters that perhaps Crouch should better have listened more closely.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to attend Douglas' excellent concert, as a member of the SF Jazz Collective, at the impeccable Funchal Jazz Festival, in the paradisiacs Madeira Islands.