Dezron Douglas
Dezron Lamont Douglas is an American jazz double bassist, composer and producer. He has produced for Louis Hayes and Brandee Younger.
Dezron Douglas | |
|---|---|
 Douglas at the Moers Festival, Germany, 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dezron Lamont Douglas |
| Born | Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Double bass |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Website | dezrondouglas |
Biography
Douglas was raised in Hartford, Connecticut and studied tuba and bass at the Hartford Conservatory of Music. He attended The Hartt School at the University of Hartford majoring in African American Music and History under the tutelage of alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.[1] He is the nephew of drummer and composer Walter Bolden.[2]
Douglas has released six albums as a leader. His 2012 debut record, Live at Smalls, earned a positive review in The New York Times, which wrote: "Learned as it may be, this is living-language music — jazz as it’s practiced, more than as it’s studied."[3]
As a sideman, Douglas has recorded with Cyrus Chestnut, Michael Carvin, Louis Hayes, Steve Davis, George Cables, Papo Vasquez, Enrico Rava, Eric Reed, Abraham Burton, Eric McPherson, Tomasz Stańko, Makaya McCraven and Brandee Younger.[4] In April 2019, Douglas' playing was featured in the documentary Homecoming, by Beyoncé.[5] The recording used was from an NPR Music field recording released in 2013.[6]
He is longstanding member of the Ravi Coltrane Quartet[7][8] and has performed with the Louis Hayes Jazz Communicators.[9]
In 2019, Douglas was the winner of the Downbeat critics poll in the category of "Rising Star bassist".[10] Douglas was featured on DownBeat magazine's July 2020 cover along with Brandee Younger and six other artists.[11]
In 2021, Dezron joined the Trey Anastasio Band, replacing the late Tony Markellis.
Discography
As leader
- 2012: Underground, Independent
- 2012: Walkin' My Baby Back Home, Venus Records
- 2012: Ganbare Nippon, Venus Records
- 2013: Dezron Douglas Live at Smalls, Smalls Live
- 2016: DE3: Live at Maxwells, Sunnyside Records
- 2017: Soul Jazz, Venus Records
- 2018: Black Lion, Independent
- 2019: Solomon Grundy, Independent (single)
- 2020: Cobra, Independent (single)
- 2020: Force Majeure, International Anthem
- 2021: Meditations on Faith, Independent (single)
- 2022: Freeway, Independent (single)
- 2022: Atalaya, International Anthem
As sideman
With Cyrus Chestnut
- 2007: Cyrus Plays Elvis
- 2010: Journeys
- 2010: The Cyrus Chestnut Quartet
- 2010: Plenty Swing, Plenty Soul: Live at Dizzy's with Eric Reed
- 2011: Moonlight Sonata
- 2013: Soul Brother Cool
With Brandee Younger
- 2011: Prelude, Independent
- 2014: The Brandee Younger 4tet, Live at the Breeding Ground, Independent
- 2015: Supreme Sonacy, Blue Note Records / Revive Music
- 2016: Wax & Wane, Independent/ Revive Music
- 2018: A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper, Impulse!
- 2019: Soul Awakening Independent
- 2021: Somewhere Different, Impulse!
With Steve Davis
- 2008: Outlook
- 2011: Images
- 2019: Correlations
With Louis Hayes
- 2014: Return of the Jazz Communicators
- 2014: Live at Cory Weeds Cellar Jazz Club
- 2017: Serenade for Horace
With Makaya McCraven
- 2018: Universal Beings
- 2020: Universal Beings E&F sides
References
- McNally, Owen (May 24, 2012). "7 Days of Jazz: Dezron Douglas, Lummie Spann at Polish National Home". Harford Courant. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021.
- Kohlhaase, Bill (January 31, 2014). "Serious respect: Jazz bassist Dezron Douglas learns from his elders". Pasatiempo.
- Ratliff, Ben (December 21, 2012). "Traveling Paths of Their Making". The New York Times.
- Kahn, Ashley (March 19, 2020). "Dezron Douglas: Before & After". Jazz Times. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020.
- "Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019) - IMDb". IMDb.
- Jarenwattananon, Patrick (June 6, 2013). "Brandee Younger: Taxidermy, Two-Headed Skeletons and Jazz Harp". NPR. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019.
- Jarenwattananon, Patrick (October 2, 2013). "Ravi Coltrane Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard". NPR. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- "Livestream Concert with Ravi Coltrane Quartet". Jazz Gallery. 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- Hovan, C. Andrew (July 11, 2014). "Louis Hayes: Return Of The Jazz Communicators". All About Jazz. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- "Salvant Tops 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll". Downbeat. June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.
- "DownBeat Magazine". Downbeat. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.