{"id":8088,"date":"2024-03-17T13:56:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T18:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=8088"},"modified":"2024-03-17T14:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T19:13:20","slug":"watchtower-dezron-douglas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/watchtower-dezron-douglas\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchtower: A Conversation with Dezron Douglas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way of interviews making it to print. This interview with Dezron Douglas, which took place on November 10, 2022, is one such conversation. At the time, the bassist was about to release his quartet\u2019s record, Atalaya<\/em> (International Anthem, 2022). As that same group – with pianist George Burton<\/a>, drummer Joe Dyson<\/a>, and saxophonist Emilio Modeste – is about to embark on a six-day run (March 19 to 24th) at the legendary Village Vanguard, it seemed like the opportune time to release this interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last several years, Douglas, a student of the late great Jackie McLean, has developed into one of modern music’s most in-demand bassists. He has worked with some of the music’s most important names, including Pharoah Sanders, Louis Hayes, George Cables, David Murray, Ravi Coltrane, Cyrus Chestnut, and Enrico Rava. His success has come, in large part, due to his unwavering focus on sounding like himself. He seems unconcerned about how other artists wish to approach music, yet still tries to find something to learn from their methods. His pure tone does not ignore the history of his instrument in the history of improvised music but also refuses to be mired in the past. He finds equally powerful conversationalists in Burton, Dyson, and Modeste. The result, on Atalaya,<\/em> is a forward-thinking album of lyrical expression rich in energy and grace. But the quartet is even better live.
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PostGenre: Where does the title, Atalaya<\/em>, come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dezron Douglas: \u2018Atalaya\u2019 is the name of an elementary school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I performed there for about a week before everything shut down because of the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did a concert there with my trio, with Darius Jones on alto saxophone and Isaiah Spencer on drums. We went to the elementary school and played for the kids. That was a pretty tough crowd. [Laughing]. <\/em>I’ve played some giant spaces for many people, but for some reason, the third and fourth graders were the roughest audience you could imagine. The teachers struggled to get the kids to sit down and be quiet. They wouldn\u2019t stop talking to their friends. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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