Infinite

Dave Douglas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00006313H
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,879 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It seems that trumpeter Dave Douglas has picked up at least one award from every jazz poll taken in the late '90s and early '00s. A restless composer with big chops, Douglas does something for everyone, using various jazz groups to delve into different styles of music. The Infinite features an outstanding new post-bop quintet that includes keyboardist Uri Caine and saxophonist Chris Potter. Together with a solid rhythm section, the group covers six new Douglas compositions and, most interestingly, three covers of pop tunes. Rufus Wainwright's "Poses" is slow and moody, Mary J. Blige's "Crazy Games" gets a little funky by Douglas standards, thanks to Caine's Fender Rhodes electric piano, but it's Douglas's use of a mute to capture the essence of Björk's voice on "Unison" that is shockingly poignant. Douglas claims to have finally dealt with Miles Davis's legacy of beautiful melodies on The Infinite, and he does, but this record owes nothing to anyone but Douglas and his talent as a composer and interpreter. --Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars kind of Miles-ish, (re)birth of the (60s) cool, March 22, 2002

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Infinite (Audio CD)

Dave Douglas and his quintet have produced a fusion record -- a fusion of various sounds of Miles' bands from the '50s to the late '60s! Douglas has chosen 3 recent pop tunes to cover (potential "new standards" by Rufus Wainwright, Mary J. Blige, and Bjork), 2 of them ballads, a tried and true Miles move. Uri Caine plays electric piano throughout, lending the proceedings a late '60s ambience reminiscent of "Miles Smiles" and "In a Silent Way." Clarence Penn excels in the Tony Williams role. The sound is very much of a piece, like "Kind of Blue," and the recordings of Miles' '60s quintet. The tracks for "The Infinite" were laid down live, just like the KOB sessions. Douglas sounds quite Miles-ish here on trumpet, and his compositions remind me of Wayne Shorter and the sleek, progressive '60s Blue Note sound, which I love.

From the record company's website I learned that 1) Douglas says "Penelope" is his own favorite on the album, 2) "Yorke" is named for the Radiohead singer, and 3) Douglas was consciously striving to emulate Miles in making a "beautiful and direct" record. The playing is solid but understated, like "Kind of Blue," and also like that '59 classic, "The Infinite" is for the most part a romantic, evening hours set.

I have been following Douglas for several years now, and I am not quite as impressed with this one as his earlier more adventurous recordings such as "Constellations," with trumpet/guitar/drums, or the 3 recordings by the string quintet on Soul Note (check out "Five" and "Convergence"). But Dave Douglas is versatile and multi-faceted, and "The Infinite," his 4th record for RCA/Bluebird, has the potential to reach a much bigger audience with some excellent modern jazz. This would be a fine thing, not just for Douglas, but for the state of jazz, as Douglas is an innovator (even if not so much on this album), keeping jazz open to creative influences rather than trying to embalm it, mummified forever in formulaic styles of the past.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reservations?, May 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Infinite (Audio CD)

I agree with Dan d'Auteuil below in that there is something rather clinical about this. I think though that this record was one that Dave Douglas had to make (the Miles thing) and that now it is out of his system, the quintet (if they record again!), can go on to other things.... I bet it is a cracking live set though!
As an introduction to DD and his sound this is as good a place to start as any, although I personally prefer his compositional style in the context of the string group.
Having said all that, Penelope is amazing!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blown away, April 22, 2002

By 

Fuzzyspaceman (Bampton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinite (Audio CD)

I bought this album Friday afternoon, after work. I had never even heard of Dave Douglas I am ashamed to say, but love trumpet-driven jazz (Nicholas Payton, Erik Truffaz recent favorites). I was completely blown away and have played it pretty much non-stop through Monday morning. Infinite owes a lot to Miles but has its own separate form; the opening track (a pop cover) and 'Penelope' are standouts. He's got a great, great band together. The sound is somewhere between 'Nefertiti' and 'ESP', occasionally getting a leetle-beet funkier with that electric piano. I bought probably about 100 cd's last year...this makes the top ten, no problem.