Dave Douglas who describes the album as, “aspirational.” The continually evolving trumpeter and composer settles down for a ballad-like set that presents a series of hymns and folk songs with an intensely personal connection. Be Still brings out the most lyrical side of Douglas and provides an introduction to a newly-configured quintet featuring Jon Irabagon, Matt Mitchell, Linda May Han Oh, and Rudy Royston, as well as an important new collaborator, vocalist Aoife O’Donovan.
released September 25, 2012
Personnel:
Dave Douglas - trumpet
Jon Irabagon - tenor saxophone
Matt Mitchell - piano
Linda May Han Oh - bass
Rudy Royston - drums
Aoife O’Donovan - voice
Production Credits:
Recorded April 15 & 16, 2012 at Avatar Studios, NYC
Recorded and mixed by Joe Ferla
Assisted by Aki Nishimura
Mastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, NYC
Art & Design by Steve Byram
Photography by Austin Nelson
All compositions and arrangements by Dave Douglas (Dave Douglas Music / BMI)
"Be Still My Soul" - words y Katharina A. von Schlegel, adapted by Aoife O-Donovan, music by Jean Sibelius
"High On A Mountain" - words and music by Ola Belle Reed
"God Be With You Until We Meet Again" - words by Jeremiah Rankin, music by William G. Tomer
"Barbara Allen" - traditional
"This Is My Father's World" - words by Maltbie D. Babcock, music from Terra Beata, traditional English melody
"Living Streams" borrows from the humnn "St, Columba," traditional Scottish melody
"Whither Music I Wander?" - by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sheet music is available as PDFs for the Dave Douglas compositions and arrangements used on the recording session. Purchase the music here:
bit.ly/SM_BeStill
Press:
“Gorgeous and contemplative”
- New York Times
“A lush collection of hymnals and elegies reworked into widescreen jazz, Be Still is highlighted by the crystalline, Alison Krauss-like vocals of bluegrass singer Aoife O'Donovan."
- Los Angeles Times
“Douglas’s most distinctive project to date.”
- eMusic
“Be Still is brimming with poetic elegance. ... adventurous ... revelatory.”
- All Music Guide
“[O]ne of the best-sounding new recordings that [we've] heard by anybody in quite a while.”
- Stereophile
“It’s rare that the particular elements that mix on Be Still, the latest from Douglas’s shimmering jazz quintet, fuse so convincingly and effortlessly. It’s a great, great record.”
- PopMatters
“Douglas’s brassy introspection captures the mood perfectly, vocalist Aoife O’Donovan amplifies with husky authenticity and the leader’s quintet ... adds cosmopolitan grace.”
- Financial Times