Dave Douglas will talk about composition, including his own works and those of his colleagues. Dave will also give some hands-on direction for composers: suggestions, exercises, and ways of looking at the topic which aim to open every mind and every ear. Dave’s approach is to work with each musician holistically, working with the person as they come. This is a great opportunity for anyone just beginning to write, or for long time practitioners. Bring manuscript paper!
Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer, educator and entrepreneur from New York City known for the stylistic breadth of his work and for keeping a diverse set of ensembles and projects active simultaneously.
His unique contributions to improvised music have garnered distinguished recognition, including a Doris Duke Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award, and two Grammy Award nominations. Douglas’ career spans more than 50 unique original recordings as a leader and more than 500 published works. His current ensembles include: Dave Douglas Quintet; Sound Prints, a quintet co-led with saxophonist Joe Lovano; UPLIFT, a sextet including bassist Bill Laswell; Present Joys, a longstanding duo with pianist Uri Caine which recently added Andrew Cyrille as third member for a 2019 recording; High Risk, an electronic ensemble with Shigeto, Jonathan Maron, and Ian Chang; and the latest project, ENGAGE, a sextet with Jeff Parker, Tomeka Reid, Anna Webber, Nick Dunston, and Kate Gentile.
An integral part of Dave Douglas’ storied career is his ongoing commitment to education. In addition to his ten years serving as artistic director of the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at The Banff Centre in Canada and his recent appointment as International Jazz Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music in London, in 2013 he launched his own Jazz Workshop, dedicated to enriching the musical experiences of younger players.
Douglas has led classes with as many as 70 students at the Banff Centre to as few as 11 students at Carnegie Hall. He is committed to working on and talking about music in any way that is appropriate to the assembled students, tailoring his appearances to the skill level of the participants or the direction of the program they are taking part in.