Riverside: unis par Jimmy Giuffre - Le Soleil

By Ian Bussières

(Québec) Les amateurs de jazz de Québec seront les premiers au Canada à pouvoir assister à une prestation de Riverside, le nouveau projet du trompettiste américain Dave Douglas qui se produira ce soir au Théâtre Petit Champlain. Le spectacle aura lieu trois jours seulement après la parution de l'album sur lequel Douglas s'associe avec les Montréalais Chet Doxas (clarinette et saxophone) et Jim Doxas (batterie) et le bassiste Steve Swallow.

Comme l'indique Douglas, Riverside, c'est l'histoire de quatre musiciens qui sont en quelque sorte réunis par l'esprit du clarinettiste et saxophoniste Jimmy Giuffre, décédé à l'âge de 86 ans en 2008. L'album regroupe d'ailleurs neuf compositions inspirées par Giuffre et deux pièces qu'il avait l'habitude d'interpréter.

«J'ai toujours senti qu'il y avait une certaine aisance, un flot qui coule naturellement dans la musique de Jimmy Giuffre. C'est de là que vient le nom du groupe et c'est aussi ce qui nous a amenés à vouloir explorer ce territoire. Il y a bien sûr The Train and the River, composée par Giuffre, et Travellin' Light, un très vieux standard que nous faisons avec les arrangements qu'il avait faits», explique Douglas à propos des deux reprises de Riverside.

Read the rest here (in French).

Ottawa Citizen on Riverside: "a strikingly strong and focused effort."

Jazz fans in the United States and beyond are well acquainted with the commanding music that trumpeter Dave Douglas and bassist Steve Swallow have made over the years.

Hopefully, they’ll take Riverside, the new CD released today that features these stars, as a spur to further appreciate the art made by their full-fledged collaborators Chet Doxas on tenor saxophone and clarinet and his brother, the drummer Jim Doxas, both of Montreal. 

Read the rest here.

New York Times' review of Riverside

One of the lovelier songs on“Riverside,” the self-titled debut album of a sturdily approachable new jazz quartet, bears the title “Old Church, New Paint.” A slow waltz by the tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Chet Doxas, from Montreal, it inhabits a kind of arid terrain between Protestant hymn and cowboy tune.

The industrious trumpeter Dave Douglas, who actually made a recent album of hymns, joins Mr. Doxas on the melody, helping give the impression of deliberative but bluesy determination. Steve Swallow, the electric bassist, lays both a foundation and a light dusting of grace notes, while Jim Doxas, a drummer (and Chet’s brother) stirs the pulse with brushes. The band, which will appear at the Jazz Standard on Tuesday and Wednesday, sounds at ease with itself, and anything but hurried.

Read the rest here.

The Free Jazz Collective gives Riverside ****½ Stars!

By Paul Acquaro

The musical legacy of woodwind player and composer Jimmy Giuffre is one that is deeply intertwined with many of the recordings that are reviewed here on the Free Jazz Blog. Giuffre's album Free Fall from 1962 with bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley is often regarded as a seminal moment in the development of free jazz, introducing a subtle chamber music approach to free improvisation. However, in the years leading up to this watershed recording, Giuffre had a trio with guitarist Jim Hall and Ralph Pena that approached jazz with deference to deep American folk and country roots.

So, why all this talk about Giuffre's music? Because trumpeter and composer David Douglas has put together a group that uses Giuffre's earlier music as a jumping off point into an exciting pool of folk and blues inspired tunes that are as unabashedly fun as they are cleverly composed.

Read the rest at freejazzblog.org

Dave Douglas & Uri Caine: "Present Joys" on Tour

European Tour

April 26 - Torino Jazz Festival, Torino, IT

April 27 - Volkshaus Basel, Basel, CH

April 29 - Teatro Lope de Vega, Sevilla, ES

April 30 - Nochtspeicher, Hamburg, DE

May 1 - Katowice JazzArt Festival, Katowice, PL

May 2 - Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds, UK

May 4 - Bray Jazz Festival, Bray, IE

May 6 - Pol Sud, Strasbourg, FR

May 7 - Kulturzentrum Dieselstrasse, Esslingen, DE

May 8 - Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, IT

May 9 - Europa Jazz Festival, Le Mans, FR

May 11 - Casino Estoril Auditorium, Estoril, PT

US Tour - More dates coming!

July 25 - Ars Nova Workshop, Philadelphia, PA

July 26 - An Die Musik, Baltimore, MD

More on Ralph Farris' work with Aquila Theatre

The Aquila Theatre Company is proud to announce the launch of it's new You|Stories program with a staged reading of "A Female Philoctetes" (based on Sophocles' classic "Philoctetes",) running at BAM Fisher's Hillman Studio from April 16 to April 19, with performances at 7 pm. You|Stories in an innovative national program, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, that uses arts and humanities to explore the ancient and modern narratives of war.

As part of Aquila Theatre's National Endowment for the Humanities $300,000 multi-year Award for You|Stories, Aquila will explore Sophocles' ancient play "Philoctetes" and reimagine it with the title role played as a female combat soldier. Aquila Theatre is a veteran of Greek Classical Theatre and will boldly take on this newest endeavor. Join Aquila Theatre as they present, "A Female Philoctetes", a staged reading , translated by Peter Meineck (NYU) and directed and adapted by Desiree Sanchez (Artistic Director, Aquila Theatre), with specially commissioned live music composed by Ralph Farris (Artistic Director, ETHEL). Post show talk-backs with Scholars and Veterans to follow each performance.

A combat soldier named Philoctetes is inflicted with an incurable and insufferable injury. The soldier's comrades cannot bear to hear the cries of pain or the sight of the wound. They maroon the injured soldier, sailing away and forgetting him, that is until ten years later when they learn that the war cannot be ended without Philoctetes' help. In this way, Sophocles' ancient play, "Philoctetes," captures a reality for all combat veterans who have been physically or mentally wounded, exploring ethical dilemmas which remain as dynamic and relevant today as they were to the Greeks 2,500 years ago.

Read the rest here.

Ralph Farris to compose music for The Aquila Theatre's production of A Female Philoctetes.

A combat soldier is inflicted with an incurable and insufferable injury. The soldier’s comrades cannot bear to hear the cries of pain or the sight of the wound. They maroon the injured soldier and sail away. The soldier is forgotten. That is, until ten years later, when they learn they cannot end the war without the help of the wounded warrior. Sophocles’ ancient play, Philoctetes, captures a reality for all combat veterans who have been physically or mentally wounded and explores ethical dilemmas, as dynamic and relevant today as they were to the Greeks 2500 years ago. Aquila Theatre will explore this ancient play and reimagine it with the title role played as a female combat soldier.

Read more at The Aquila Theatre's site.


Marlbank gives Riverside a **** Star RECOMMENDED Review

This is a bit different. It feels like a lost world, music that’s been hidden away for too long. Slightly quirky, certainly jaunty, Douglas tune ‘Thrush’ opens proceedings. The trumpeter co-leads the band with Montreal-born reeds player Chet Doxas, the pair teaming with electric bass icon Steve Swallow, and Chet’s brother drummer Jim Doxas.

The main thrust of Riverside is its theme around the timeless music of clarinetist/saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008).

Read the rest at Marlbank.net.