Search - Dave Douglas :: Keystone (W/Dvd)

A funky, chunky, fusiony, grungy, punchy tribute to Fatty...

svf | 02/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Trumpeter Dave Douglas is one of the hardest working men in the jazz business, so it should come as no surprise that he's added a new record label, Greenleaf Music, to his long list of projects... and it's easy to understand why. The major record labels (there are basically two of them now, right?) really have nothing to offer ambitious, innovative musicians anymore -- no wonder so many others are starting their own labels too (including John Zorn, Philip Glass, Michael Torke, John Eliot Gardiner, and the London Symphony Orchestra, to name just a few...)



Keystone is Dave Douglas' audiovisual tribute to the notorious yet somewhat neglected and underappreciated comedic silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. This album presents eleven of Douglas' original Arbuckle "movie scores" (along with the actual films on the DVD) performed by Douglas on trumpet, Jamie Saft on wurlitzer electric piano, drummer Gene Lake, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, Brad Jones on bass, and the apparent go-to guy for avant-jazz turntables, DJ Olive.



Douglas and this band are in a funky, chunky, fusiony, almost grungy mode with tunes that are punchy, dry, and muscular -- no wistful Charms of the Night Sky melodies here. There's plenty of fuzzy, nearly distorted wurlitzer in the texture at times, and DJ Olive weaves weird electronic noisescapes and processing effects under the surface throughout. Gene Lake's drumming is especially aggressive, propulsive, and prominent in the mix -- and yes, it kicks ass.



In fact, Keystone is probably the most successful and enjoyable jazz/rock/electronic fusion album I've heard in a long time (and it seems like there have been plenty of them lately.) Sure, I like Uri Caine's Bedrock, The Bad Plus, and Cinematic Orchestra just fine too, but Douglas' Keystone band is just more exciting and, well, fun. Yes, sometimes the soprano sax soloing goes on a bit too long, and occasionally DJ Olive's contributions are more annoying than interesting, but usually everyone in the band is doing something to contribute to the music and it all comes together remarkably well -- and, unlike so many neo-jazz fusion groups, it sounds like they're actually enjoying themselves.



The DVD included with Keystone is really an essential element of this whole project (unlike most throwaway "bonus DVDs" these days.) I had never seen a Fatty Arbuckle movie before watching this, and I was completely amazed at how bizarre and entertaining a 1916 silent film could actually be and how well Douglas' new music complemented the action on screen. The DVD contains the 34 minute Fatty & Mabel Adrift, an epic tale of love, jealousy, and real estate; and the five minute Just Another Murder "music video" (I guess Dave wants his MTV) which is a wild slapstick collage of scenes from Fatty's Tintype Tangle featuring all kinds of life-threatening situations. It's all fascinating, strange, and even sort of funny now and then.



In short, Keystone (both the CD and the DVD) is a rousing success, and gets Dave Douglas' new Greenleaf Music label off to a winning start. Encore!"

Modern Music - Don't be fooled by the Fatty Arbuckle Theme

Scott Williams | Oakland, CA United States | 05/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I delayed in buying this CD for a long time because I thought it was going to be 1920's style music to go along with the Fatty Arbuckle Theme. This is not the case. This is some of Dave Douglas' most modern work (perhaps his most modern work). The group features DJ olive on turn tables, Jamie Saft on Wurlitzer, Brad Jones, on bass and Mark Strickland, on sax. The sound is a little bit Miles Davis 70's era, a little bit Herbie Hancock Headhunters, with a twist of modern electronica. Most of the songs a catchy tunes and the group takes turns ripping solos over the funky grooves. The CD also comes with a Fatty Arbuckle DVD with an edited version of the album that is "timed-up" to the movie. Personally I don't think the music really fits very well w/ Fatty Arbuckle. I think Dave just wanted to pay a tribute to Fatty. Regardless I like the music, and I think anyone following Dave's recent work will enjoy this CD. I don't think the songs are quite the compositional masterpieces that you'll find on Strange Liberation, Meaning & Mystery, and Live at the Jazz Standard. These songs are a bit simpler and more jammed out. Nonetheless its great music and I love it."

Dave's keystone

Case Quarter | CT USA | 04/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"jazz artists like joe lovano and james carter have persona, the late lester bowie, with and without the art ensemble of chicago, was theatric, and more than a few jazz artists are arrayed in sartorial splendor, whether wearing hip threads or wearing their audience, all this lends to live performance and lends visual memory to recordings, if you've seen the live performances-and if not, then you should just like what you hear, which is why i listen to music anyway, and come away with favorite artists and favorite recordings.



in the case of dave douglas, when he's using the late 60s and later music of miles davis as a springboard, i like his quintet work. or if he includes instruments not usually associated with jazz to comprise a quintet.



keystone is made a sextet by including dj olive on turntables. otherwise, it's a quintet. the cd was nothing spectacular, which didn't surprise me.



i watched the fatty arbuckle movie and was drawn into the film from the opening notes of the music. for me this proved to be dave douglas' theatre and clothes. after watching the movie, i have listened to the cd several times, each time with the visual memory of the fatty arbuckle movie and soundtrack. i've listened to a couple of other dave douglas quintet cds, and with keystone in mind i find them more enjoyable than in the past.



i'm not a fan of silent film, and chances are i would not had enjoyed this one without douglas' music. there's a wedding night turns disastrous sequence that makes fun brilliantly of society's mores and cinematic prudery of the day involving the stricture against a man and woman being in the same bed together for any reason. watch the film, listen to the music, they go together, hand in glove."