The Tiny Bell Trio, one of Douglas's many concurrent projects, went on to record regularly since this 1994 debut. Featuring Douglas on trumpet, Brad Shepik on guitar, and Jim Black on drums, the Tiny Bell Trio produces a remarkably full sound despite its sparse instrumentation. In some sense, the lineup recalls the famous Paul Motian/Joe Lovano/Bill Frisell trio, and in fact one hears traces of Frisell in Shepik's playing, particularly on Kurt Weill's dark ballad "The Drowned Girl." However, whereas Motian's group focused for the most part on straight-ahead and free jazz, Douglas's goal here is to absorb musical influences from the Balkans and Europe. Thus we have a traditional Hungarian "Czardas," two pieces by the Hungarian/French composer Joseph Kosma, and an "Arabesque for Clarinet and Piano" (played, of course, on trumpet, guitar, and drums) by the French classical composer Germaine Tailleferre. In addition, Douglas contributes six original compositions, including the slow and stealthy "Road/Home," the vibrant, technically challenging "Shards," and the fractured, off-kilter "Punchy," which vaguely recalls Thelonious Monk's "Trinkle Tinkle." Shepik, for his part, pens "Felijar," one of the most moody and fascinating pieces on the disc. As an early glimpse of Douglas's unconventional brilliance, this one is well worth checking out. - David R. Adler
“An outstanding player, gifted with a wonderfully fluid style and a deep bag of tonal and timbral effects, he’s also a terrific writer and arranger.” — John Corbett, Down Beat
“Their wonderful new album is an extra-jazzy playground of modern, cabaret-klezmer new music attitudes and vintage Eastern European sonorities. If Schoenberg wrote soundtracks for Porky Pig, as played by jazzers, it might sound something like Douglas’s ‘Head-On Kouvlodsko’. Although most of the music is by Douglas, we also hear Schoeppach’s languid ‘Felijar’, a haunting reading of Kurt Weill’s ‘The Drowned Girl’, and a raucous inside-out take on the traditional Hungarian tune ‘Czardas’ to close.” — Josef Woodard, Jazziz (top pick, best of ’94)
“Sometimes cartoonish, occasionally serious, the trio parades through musical space like a drunken New Orleans marching band…Douglas leads the trio on a wild goose chase of a ride through every conceivable musical terrain…Calling this music ‘jazz’ is way too limiting…What makes this disc even more special is the superb analogue sound: Douglas’s trumpet is captured with all the burnished brass and bite of the real thing.” — Michael Fremer, The Absolute Sound
“A remarkable CD…All three men improvise brilliantly.” — Harvey Pekar, The Riverside Times
“Douglas thinks beyond musical category, plays his instrument with vast facility, and possesses a wit both dry and bent…The blend is stark, intellectually unsettling, and profoundly elusive…” — Thomas Conrad, CD Review
“An impressive debut…explores a strange middle European terrain of bright rhythm and acrid melody, establishing a sui generis mood.” — Gary Giddens, Village Voice
“Luminously elusive improvised chamber music for the ages.” — Mathias Bäumel, Sächsische Zeitung
Tracks
01. Red Emma (Dave Douglas)
02. Punchy (Dave Douglas)
03. Road / Home (Dave Douglas)
04. Head-on Kouvlodsko (Dave Douglas)
05. The Drowned Girl (Kurt Weill)
06. La Belle Saison (Joseph Kosma)
07. Song For My Father-in-law (Dave Douglas)
08. Shards (Dave Douglas)
09. Felijar (Brad Shepik)
10. Fille D'Acier (Joseph Kosma)
11. Arabesque For Clarinet And Piano (Germaine Tailleferre)
12. Czardas (Traditional)
JIM BLACK drums
BRAD SHEPIK guitar
DAVE DOUGLAS trumpet
Recorded on 21, 22 December 1993 at Sear Sound, NYC.
Songlines Recordings - SGL 1504-2