Monday, October 23, 2017

Dave Douglas - Little Giant Still Life (2017)


Little Giant Still Life is an exhilarating new album from trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas featuring five brass players and drums. Much of this music was inspired by the American painter Stuart Davis and the music explodes with the same bright colors and excitement of Davis’ works. 

Combining the acclaimed talents of brass ensemble The Westerlies – known for their work with Fleet Foxes, their repertoire of original compositions, and interpretations of the music of Wayne Horvitz – and the soulful young drummer Anwar Marshall (Fresh Cut Orchestra, Kurt Rosenwinkel), with Douglas’ inspired compositional vision, the album is full of grooving, swinging, lyrical new jazz. 

What makes Little Giant Still Life special is the communal music making that the six musicians are able to generate. The sextet unfurls a new view of jazz brass band music with sophistication and heart.


1. Champion 05:58
2. Arcade 04:33
3. Men and Machine 03:26
4. Little Giant Still Life 05:14
5. Percolator 04:10
6. Your Special Day 03:22
7. Bunting 02:39
8. Swing Landscape 07:16
9. The Front Page 05:36
10. Colonial Cubism 03:58
11. Codetta 03:32
12. Worlds Beyond the Sky 03:27


The Westerlies:
Riley Mulherkar, trumpet
Zubin Hensler, trumpet
Andy Clausen, trombone
Willem de Koch, trombone 

Anwar Marshall, drums

Production Credits:
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Recorded on December 6, 2016 at the Hotel Samurai
Engineered by Geoff Countryman
Mixed and mastered Tyler McDiarmid
Cover photo by Austin Nelson
Band photos by Russell Moore
Design by Lukas Frei