If There Are Mountains
by Dave Douglas & Elan Mehler
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1. |
If There Are Mountains
04:32
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If there are mountains
I look at the mountains
On rainy days
I listen to the rain
Spring, summer
Autumn, winter
Tomorrow, too, will be good
Tonight, too is good
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2. |
We Saw You Off
04:31
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We saw you off
And returning through the fields
I thought morning dew
Had wet my sleeves
But it was tears
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3. |
Even a Nameless Stream
03:58
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May rains
Even a nameless stream
Is a frightening thing
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4. |
Wolf Orchard
03:16
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In orchard dreams
The hired man’s gone
And hounds lie low
How the gold grass climbs
In orchard dreams
In orchard dreams
How the cold frost limes
The wire bound cross
And foxglove crowns
The fruitless beams
Now the cold keeps time
Disordered scenes
And bootless dreams
Man’s gone now
And wolves lie down
In Orchard dream
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5. |
Haiku
03:06
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6. |
Here on the Plains
04:01
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Through the window
We watch the wind blow
Silver breakers
Through the summer fields
Storm-clouds’ shadows
Swallow silos
Homes and hedgerows
Man the harpoons
Here on the plains we wake
To find the air grown salty
Our talk saltier still
Interlaced with courtly pleasantries
And perilous diphthongs from old world tongues
Our hands would almost
Mistake the plow handle for keel
And we go sailing off
Into the endless waves of grass
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7. |
Village of No Bells
05:23
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Village of no bells
Spring evenings
What’s to listen for?
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8. |
The Spring Current
04:10
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Wading through it
Her feet muddied
The spring current
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9. |
With Your Singing
04:41
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With your singing make me lonelier than ever
You solitary bird
Cuckoo of the forest
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10. |
Arms Folded to the Moon
03:23
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Arms folded to the moon
Among the cows
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11. |
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A thicket of summer grass
Is all that remains
Of the dreams and ambitions
Of ancient warriors
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12. |
Barn's Burnt Down
04:49
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Barn’s burnt down
Now I can see the moon
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13. |
Life
03:50
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Love doesn’t come peacefully
Love doesn’t come fair
Life isn’t a fantasy
Life lives
Why is it you run from me
What makes you recall
All this is the best of me
Life lives
Love in your arms
Love in your eyes
Now owning it gratefully
All part of a plan
I’m up for the mysters
Life lives
Love
Love in your arms
Love in your eyes
Love doesn’t come peacefully
Love doesn’t come fair
Life isn’t a fantasy
Life lives
Love
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about
From the liner notes - Elan Mehler:
I’ve been pitching Dave Douglas to come record for Newvelle Records since the label began, so it genuinely surprised me when Dave proposed recording a project together. Dave had set some haikus to music in the early 2000’s, and we had covered one of those songs — “Village of No Bells” — on a gig we played together in Denver. I loved the way Dave told an almost parallel story to these short lines from 17th century poet Basho, amplifying the message but also turning it on its head.
Village of No Bells
Spring evenings
What’s to listen for?
Despite my lack of knowledge of Japanese poetry, I started reading haikus and searching for a “click” that would inspire some compositional ideas for me. It was rough going. I had expected this world of ancient Japanese poems to yield images and gestures that would be fertile ground for musical exploration. Haikus, to my uneducated ears, were often quotidian and startlingly matter of fact. But, inspired by Dave’s faith in me, I spent weeks reading through collections, feeling completely lost. Then, I found my spark:
--
Even a Nameless Stream
Yosa Buson
May rains
Even a nameless stream
Is a frightening thing
--
I heard those first two words, “May rains,” in an ascending interval of a fifth. A declaration and a harbinger and the rest of the song followed in minutes. I loved building these compositions out of such coded input. It felt like a key to a secret world. When I heard what Dave had been composing in our first rehearsal, it sent me reeling (and back to the drawing board on my own tunes). Dave is well-known in certain circles for his fastidious charts, but not in the way you would expect. There’s a movement in improvised music toward the overly elaborate composition. Mixed meter, thorough composition, elaborate counterpoint, and huge stylistic changes are all commonplace. In contrast, Dave’s compositions are generally very simple but also very precise. This rigor of attention is actually freeing for the musician, because the departure point is so clear. Something in Dave’s style has a clear consonance with the haiku form: "Start here. Jump."
What an incredible band we’ve pulled together for this record! John, Dominique, Simón and Dayeon have such unique perspectives and voices, and it was humbling to see how they threw themselves into these compositions. This band coalesced around the initial gig in Denver in 2018. Dave and Dominique had known each other for many years. I had just met Dominique at a Lee Konitz show, and we subsequently played a duo show. Dominique is a bit of a legend around Boston. She’s been a mentor and a teacher to many if not most of the outstanding vocalists of the last couple of decades, and her years of work with Ran Blake are a continual astonishment.
Working on these pieces made me think of one of my favorite poets and song writers, Adam McBride-Smith. Adam has a real gift for evocative natural depictions. I had set to music a poem of his, “Here on the Plains,” for a project we released together in 2010. I knew it would be perfect for this band. OnceI started tinkering with it, I reached out to Adam about working on something new, and he wrote the astonishing lyrics to “Wolf Orchard.”
The overwhelming emotion I get out of listening again to the record, almost a year after we got out of the studio, is gratitude. I’m writing these notes in June 2020, and the world feels VERY unbalanced and frightening. It’s such a balm to feel thankful. To feel connected—with these poets, these amazing musicians, the music, the Newvelle Community, Marc Urselli and our home at East Side Sound, the visual artists who lend us their work every year... It all spins out into something larger and it alights on an evening like this, like an enormous gift.
— Elan Mehler
Very proud to finally see the CD and digital release of this recording originally made for vinyl-only release on Newvelle Records. Here it is, with four extra pieces!
It was inspiring to work with these words. Enjoy and happy listening!
— Dave Douglas
I’ve been pitching Dave Douglas to come record for Newvelle Records since the label began, so it genuinely surprised me when Dave proposed recording a project together. Dave had set some haikus to music in the early 2000’s, and we had covered one of those songs — “Village of No Bells” — on a gig we played together in Denver. I loved the way Dave told an almost parallel story to these short lines from 17th century poet Basho, amplifying the message but also turning it on its head.
Village of No Bells
Spring evenings
What’s to listen for?
Despite my lack of knowledge of Japanese poetry, I started reading haikus and searching for a “click” that would inspire some compositional ideas for me. It was rough going. I had expected this world of ancient Japanese poems to yield images and gestures that would be fertile ground for musical exploration. Haikus, to my uneducated ears, were often quotidian and startlingly matter of fact. But, inspired by Dave’s faith in me, I spent weeks reading through collections, feeling completely lost. Then, I found my spark:
--
Even a Nameless Stream
Yosa Buson
May rains
Even a nameless stream
Is a frightening thing
--
I heard those first two words, “May rains,” in an ascending interval of a fifth. A declaration and a harbinger and the rest of the song followed in minutes. I loved building these compositions out of such coded input. It felt like a key to a secret world. When I heard what Dave had been composing in our first rehearsal, it sent me reeling (and back to the drawing board on my own tunes). Dave is well-known in certain circles for his fastidious charts, but not in the way you would expect. There’s a movement in improvised music toward the overly elaborate composition. Mixed meter, thorough composition, elaborate counterpoint, and huge stylistic changes are all commonplace. In contrast, Dave’s compositions are generally very simple but also very precise. This rigor of attention is actually freeing for the musician, because the departure point is so clear. Something in Dave’s style has a clear consonance with the haiku form: "Start here. Jump."
What an incredible band we’ve pulled together for this record! John, Dominique, Simón and Dayeon have such unique perspectives and voices, and it was humbling to see how they threw themselves into these compositions. This band coalesced around the initial gig in Denver in 2018. Dave and Dominique had known each other for many years. I had just met Dominique at a Lee Konitz show, and we subsequently played a duo show. Dominique is a bit of a legend around Boston. She’s been a mentor and a teacher to many if not most of the outstanding vocalists of the last couple of decades, and her years of work with Ran Blake are a continual astonishment.
Working on these pieces made me think of one of my favorite poets and song writers, Adam McBride-Smith. Adam has a real gift for evocative natural depictions. I had set to music a poem of his, “Here on the Plains,” for a project we released together in 2010. I knew it would be perfect for this band. OnceI started tinkering with it, I reached out to Adam about working on something new, and he wrote the astonishing lyrics to “Wolf Orchard.”
The overwhelming emotion I get out of listening again to the record, almost a year after we got out of the studio, is gratitude. I’m writing these notes in June 2020, and the world feels VERY unbalanced and frightening. It’s such a balm to feel thankful. To feel connected—with these poets, these amazing musicians, the music, the Newvelle Community, Marc Urselli and our home at East Side Sound, the visual artists who lend us their work every year... It all spins out into something larger and it alights on an evening like this, like an enormous gift.
— Elan Mehler
Very proud to finally see the CD and digital release of this recording originally made for vinyl-only release on Newvelle Records. Here it is, with four extra pieces!
It was inspiring to work with these words. Enjoy and happy listening!
— Dave Douglas
credits
released March 24, 2023
Personnel:
Dave Douglas, trumpet
Elan Mehler, piano
Dominique Eade, vocals
John Gunther, saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Simón Willson, bass
Dayeon Seok, drums
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Produced by Elan Mehler
Recorded and Mixed by Marc Urselli, May 27th and May 28th 2019 at East Side Sound NYC, New York
Mastered by Tyler McDiarmid
Photos by Anna Yatskevich
Graphic design by Lukas Frei
Dave Douglas compositions © 2023 Dave Douglas Music, BMI.
Elan Mehler compositions © 2023 Elan Mehler Music, BMI except “Here on the Plains” © 2023 Omakase Music / Bucks Publishing.
“Wolf Orchard” & “Here on the Plains” text by Adam McBride-Smith (Copyright Control).
Personnel:
Dave Douglas, trumpet
Elan Mehler, piano
Dominique Eade, vocals
John Gunther, saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Simón Willson, bass
Dayeon Seok, drums
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Produced by Elan Mehler
Recorded and Mixed by Marc Urselli, May 27th and May 28th 2019 at East Side Sound NYC, New York
Mastered by Tyler McDiarmid
Photos by Anna Yatskevich
Graphic design by Lukas Frei
Dave Douglas compositions © 2023 Dave Douglas Music, BMI.
Elan Mehler compositions © 2023 Elan Mehler Music, BMI except “Here on the Plains” © 2023 Omakase Music / Bucks Publishing.
“Wolf Orchard” & “Here on the Plains” text by Adam McBride-Smith (Copyright Control).
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Dave Douglas New York, New York
Dave Douglas is a prolific trumpeter, composer and educator from New York City.
shows
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Apr 26Philadelphia, PA
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Apr 28New York (NYC), NY
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May 3London, UK
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May 3London, UK
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May 4Cheltenham, UK
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May 5Bray, Ireland
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Jul 14Rotterdam, Netherlands
discography
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Apr 2024 -
Mar 2023 -
Oct 2022 -
Oct 2022
contact / help
Dave Douglas recommends:
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