DAVE DOUGLAS
In 2021 trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas released Secular Psalms, leading a sextet with uncommon instrumentation through a program inspired by the Ghent Altarpiece – a masterpiece of 15th-century Flemish painting, deeply religious in nature. Moving on from that project, Douglas was impelled to look to the source, to the biblical psalms themselves, in particular the inspiring sequence of 15 psalms known as the Songs of Ascent. To Douglas the task became clear: write 15 pieces of music, in order, responding in some way to each of these. Another, a 16th, emerged very early in the process, unconnected to the psalms though conceived in that spirit. It is “Never Let Me Go,” the leadoff track from the Dave Douglas Quintet’s extraordinary new double album Songs of Ascent.
Songs of Ascent Book 1: Degrees will be a conventional release, available on CD and digitally through the normal channels. Songs of Ascent Book 2: Steps is available only to those who subscribe and take advantage of Greenleaf Music’s unique membership offerings, including ongoing access to otherwise unreleased material. “I hope listeners will want to join in to hear what is happening in both books,” Douglas says. “They are very different. The subscription model has become increasingly important in our work as an independent company. Independent of trends and advertising and expectations. Independent in terms of style or genre. independent in terms of having a dedicated base of listeners who want to hear everything we do, freeing us up to continue pursuing the best creative music and musicians that we can.”
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