Dave Douglas & Uri Cane - Present Joys
Trumpeter Dave Douglas and pianist Uri Caine share a lot – big techniques, innovative intelligence, multi-genre fluency and connections with John Zorn, for starters – but this melodious balance of old Protestant hymn themes, postbop swing and a little free improv is their first duo project together. On Present Joys, they adapt five pieces from New England's church-song traditions, and five compatible Douglas compositions, furthering the approach the trumpeter pursued on his haunting 2012 valediction to his mother, Be Still. The mix sounds alluring from the off, with Douglas's warm, low-register sound and Caine's attentive countermelodies joined on the lovely theme of Soar Away. Douglas's Miles Davis allegiances surface in the forceful Ham Fist, with Caine walking a swing line beneath; the title track is a country dance that flips into swing and some casual bebop-quoting; and more diffuse pieces such as the wandering Seven Seas or the brittle End to End provide some edgy surprises.
