Dave Douglas Quintet - Songs of Ascent: Book 1 - Degrees (2022) [Hi-Res]

This quintet began playing together in 2011, so it was uplifting for me that we could come together again from our separate spaces to record this suite. Inspired by the biblical psalms, I wrote these while I was in the process of making Secular Psalms, wanting to go and revisit all the originals. There are 15 psalms known as Songs of Ascent. These psalms are fascinating, somewhat mysterious and inspiring. Each of these pieces was written as a reflection of one of these psalms, with the exception of the first one, which I wrote somewhat impulsively on the day I decided to do this. In my excitement and haste, I neglected to give it a number. So there are 16 pieces in all. 8 are on this disc. The subsequent 8 are on a companion disc subtitled Steps, which will be immediately available to members of Greenleaf Music. Thank you all for your support! One small point of info about this set: I recorded all my parts first. - Dave Douglas

Dave Douglas, trumpet
Jon Irabagon, reeds
Matt Mitchell, piano
Linda May Han Oh, bass
Rudy Royston, drums