|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| New Dave Douglas' DualDisc Keystone Greenleaf Music announces the September 20, 2005 release of trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas’ new studio recording, Keystone, the follow up recording to the much praised Mountain Passages, and Douglas’ musical encomium to the unjustly maligned silent film star, Roscoe Arbuckle. Keystone will feature the exciting DualDisc technology, a double sided CD/DVD with eleven new compelling and modernistic Douglas compositions on the CD side and one of Arbuckle’s most revered films, Fatty and Mable Adrift (1916, Keystone/Triangle), accompanied by Douglas’ “score” on the DVD side. Dave Douglas, a recent recipient of a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship, is joined on this recording by a band of five of the most groundbreaking and gifted musicians in the world today: Jamie Saft on Wurlitzer, Gene Lake on drums, Marcus Strickland on saxophones, Brad Jones on bass and DJ Olive on turntables. Keystone is co-produced by Douglas and David Torn. The band will launch an international multi-media tour on October 1, 2005 at The Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, NY. On Keystone, Douglas’ twenty-third album, the fertile-minded, perpetually adventurous trumpeter/ composer, and his newest ensemble, immediately capture the outrageous, absurd, wild, but innocent, passionate sense of humor that Arbuckle so naturally embodied. From the opening notes of “A Noise From The Deep” (named after one of Arbuckle’s early shorts for Mack Sennet’s Keystone Films in which Arbuckle became the first film comedian to get hit in the face with a pie) Douglas’ composition describes a scene from “Fatty and Mabel Adrift” and reflects the virtuosity of Arbuckle’s comedic genius that made him one of highest paid and respected comedians during the first two decades of the 20th century. On “Just Another Murder” (title of an early Arbuckle film) Douglas’ funky, electronic-infused theme hints at the deft physical moves Arbuckle made with ease. As Douglas said, “they are always wringing each other by the throat, throwing each other around, falling down stairs. And no one seems to get hurt.” Other highlights on Keystone include the contemplatively beautiful, “Sapphire Sky Blue, ” written for Douglas’ wife, and “Butterfly Effect, ” a tune that references the theory that slight changes or tiny alterations in conditions can give rise to significant changes, having great consequences; in music and in life. “Famous Players” was the name of one of the companies Roscoe produced films for. “It also seemed like a good name for a funk tune. Dig the Gene Lake drum solo-definitely a drummer's world moment, ” said Douglas. He added, “’Tragicomique’ plays for a long chase scene in the movie, and has a bittersweet, but carefree quality that I thought evoked Roscoe's presence. He eventually lost a lot of weight (due to illness), but they then made him wear a fat suit!” Dave Douglas elaborates further on the music on Keystone and Fatty and Mable Adrift: “There is a levity and a fast pace to Arbuckle’s work that made me feel it would work with modern music. Fatty and Mabel Adrift, shot in 1915, was on the cutting edge of narrative filmmaking. The technology was exciting and new. It must have been a thrill to come to work each day and dream up new scenarios and new ways of capturing them. In a way, working with electronic music I feel in the same situation. These scores are meant to evoke the atmospheres and feelings in Roscoe's early work. Innocence, caring, devotion, and a wicked, winking sense of humor and the absurd. On the DVD side, my music is timed up to the film. On the CD side the pieces are represented in their entirety.” Roscoe Arbuckle’s career came to a screeching halt when on September 17, 1921 he was charged with the murder of film starlet Virginia Rappe. The hasty decisiveness of the American press and public to proclaim Arbuckle guilty shattered his reputation. He was later proven innocent and was issued a formal apology during his short third trial. This proved to be too little, too late, as Arbuckle’s career was ruined. Roscoe Arbuckle was an innovator, and a master at physical comedy. Besides starring in and directing many popular films, which remain cult classics to this day, Roscoe was an inspiration to Charlie Chaplin and a mentor and friend to Buster Keaton. Unfortunately Arbuckle is only recognized as a minor figure today, owing to the powerful vendetta directed at him in 1921. In addition to his relentless touring and recording schedule, Douglas is currently continuing his vision of “an American Music moving forward in all directions” by serving as Artistic Director for his label, Greenleaf Music. Keystone, Greenleaf Music's third release, will be available for purchase exclusively at www.greenleafmusic.com, Douglas' label site, and will not be distributed through regular retail outlets. The record, which is Douglas' first Internet-only release, will be sold in downloadable and finished goods form. The decision to limit sales to the site was a carefully considered one on the label's part. “It is unusual for an artist of the stature of Dave Douglas to be foregoing regular retail distribution at this time especially when it is available to him as is the case with Greenleaf, ” says Michael Friedman, Greenleaf Music's label manager. “We are looking towards the future, which we have come to believe is on the Internet for labels such as ours. Our main goal is to produce and promote highly creative music and we want to be around a long time doing it. We believe that the key to our success will be in cementing our bonds with music fans intrigued by our vision, and finding fresh ways to make music available. The Internet affords us this opportunity. In the coming weeks, we will be launching a new version of our website with many new features including a subscription service. This is a whole new way for artists like Dave to reach their audience, and a new way of making that work available. Starting with a multi-media project like Keystone is the ideal exposition of this concept.” Douglas says, “Producing the music for this DVD was like a sneak preview of how this band plays live with the films. I had a lot of fun producing this record because everyone played so well. And the process of making electric records these days is in such a state of explosion, it's really at the forefront of what's happening in the music, and it's just an incredible inspiration for a composer.” Additional tracks will be released independently on www.greenleafmusic.com. Track Listing: 1. A Noise From The Deep 6:54 2. Just Another Murder 4:51 3. Sapphire Sky Blue 4:55 4. Butterfly Effect 6:14 5. Fatty's Day Off 2:31 6. Mabel Normand 4:47 7. The Real Roscoe 4:31 8. Famous Players 6:52 9. Barnyard Flirtations 1:42 10. Hollywood 4:19 11. Tragicomique 5:18 write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |