A great session by Douglas' String Group
Anthony Cooper | 01/05/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Douglas creates a great jazz cd using "classical" instruments such as violin, cello and double bass along with his trumpet and Michael Sarin's percussion. A stunning cd that sounds like no other group."
Queer quintet
IRate | 09/11/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Douglas strikes some interesting notes along the way of this classically-inflected experimental jazz, but as usual a majority feels overwrought and undercooked at the same time- compositionally floundering, around occasional brilliance, under fused pretense."
Dave Douglas with strings and a drummer
Anthony Cooper | Louisville, KY United States | 06/27/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Dave Douglas' first CD was "Parallel Worlds." It was a quintet with Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Mark Dresser, and Michael Sarin. Three years later, and three other CD's in between, Douglas released "Five", which changes the bassist to Drew Gress. Douglas returned to this lineup three years later with "Convergence".
The basic sound of this disc is pretty free-wheeling. A lot of it seems composed, but it also seems very improvised. Feldman and Friedlander on violin and cello will sound pretty or abrasive at different times. With the instrumentation and the arrangements, "Who Knows?" doesn't sound like a Monk song, it fits in with the rest of the disc. Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Inflated Tear" retains more of its original shape. My only criticism is that the disc doesn't end strong -- "Over Farrell's" and "Mogador" aren't at the same level as the rest of the music.
It's essentially jazz played at a high level. Dave Douglas fans will want to pick this up. If you're not particularly familiar with Dave Douglas, it shows a lot of his musical virtues, and there are several other better Douglas albums out there to discover too.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1