Meaning and Mystery


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‹‹‹ Click the cover to view the full artwork ›››

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’ fascination 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.


Subscriber Bonus: Meaning and Mystery

The title track from the album by the same name that wasn’t included on the final tracklist. Recorded at the same session (February 1, 2006) that yielded Meaning and Mystery (with Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, James Genus and Clarence Penn, recorded by Joe Ferla).

Dave says:

Every now and then you write the kind of tune that people always ask about after the gig. Maybe because I’ve been rummaging around in old hymnals some of that crept into this one. I don’t know. But since it didn’t fit on the album, we’re making it available for your listening pleasure only in this special format. The band sounds so good on this one. I hope you’ll agree.

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Download “Meaning and Mystery”
[MP3, 160kbps, 9.2MB]
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Subscriber Bonus: Leaving Autumn

“Leaving Autumn” was recorded at the Meaning and Mystery session and was mixed and mastered but not included on the final version of the record. Not an “outtakes” but tracks Dave recorded specifically to be made available in any number of ways. A rare cut featuring Dave in a trio setting with two of his favorite players, Clarence Penn and James Genus, “Leaving Autumn” is an especially original reading of the old standard.

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Download “Leaving Autumn”
[MP3, 192kbps, 7.2MB]
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Subscriber Bonus: Owens

Dave Douglas Quintet with Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, James Genus, and Clarence Penn. This is another track from the February 1, 2006, Meaning and Mystery recording date with Joe Ferla engineering.

This is a multi-part composition thinking of Jimmy Owens. As usual, the rhythm section is smoking here — the only reason it is not on the record is because of its length. You can enjoy it in full here.

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Download “Owens”
[MP3, 192kbps, 12.5MB]
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