Meaning and Mystery is the third album from the Dave Douglas Quintet and first for the Greenleaf Music label. It follows 2004's critically-acclaimed Strange Liberation and 2002's Grammy-nominated The Infinite in building upon and establishing Douglas' version of a modern living jazz quintet music. Inspired by Miles Davis, the current work of the Wayne Shorter Quartet as well as more obscure groups such as those led by Julius Hemphill and Baikida Carroll to name a few, the album's nine dynamic Douglas compositions reflect Douglas' fasciation with the worlds of poetry, visual arts, architecture, dance and film. Except for tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who joined the quintet in 2005, each member of the group has played with Douglas for an extended period of time. Uri Caine (Fender Rhodes) has been with Douglas for fifteen years, bassist James Genus for over ten years, and drummer Clarence Penn for over six years. Each group member is a master musician with a clear and distinctive voice; Douglas wouldn't have it any other way. "I like to hear individual expression, even in a group setting," says Douglas. "I tried to write songs that could be approached with - that invite - personality, expressiveness, immediacy." With Meaning and Mystery, he has accomplished this goal and delivered an album of astonishing virtuosity and artistic vision.