Dave Douglas Quintet at CBSO Centre

Apr 22 2008 By Peter Bacon

Trumpeter Dave Douglas is one of the great jazz bandleaders - not only does he maintain many different groups but the musicians he chooses for each, and the material he gives them, are exemplary.

The quintet he has currently touring Europe (Birmingham was privileged to be its only UK date) has long-standing members James Genus on bass and Clarence Penn on drums. A few years back Donny McCaslin took the tenor chair previously held by Chris Potter, and in for this tour for usual Fender Rhodes man, Uri Caine, is Orrin Evans.

Each one could single-handedly have kept the healthy house entertained for the full evening; each has his own distinctive sound, style and character. And each clearly thrives in the environment his leader provides. (One look at the radiant face of Clarence Penn in action shows this is a man who truly loves his work. And have you noticed how really great drum-mers seem to have all the time in the world, even when playing at a pace?)

Campaign Trail was a pertinent opener from the politically astute Douglas, and Invocation, written back in 2003 for an anti-war gig, took its concerns deeper. This band might be inspired by Douglas's musical respect for Miles Davis's great quintets of the 1950s and '60s, but it is also fired by the protest principles of that latter decade.

Blues for Steve Lacy featured a head played with pin-drop restraint, and a reflective mood held throughout the solos.

The mixture of risk-taking, profound thought and witty eloquence made listening to Earmarks a bit like watching five sky-divers discussing Jacques Derrida on the way down before casually pulling their rip-cords with seconds to spare. Exhilarating.