By Phil Freeman, The Wire
This first call New York bassist, most recently heard on Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings, has assembled a killer band for his six track digital EP including saxophonists Stacy Dillard and Lummie Spann, trumpeter Josh Evans and drummer Jeremy ‘Bean” Clemons. The music encompasses heavy 1970s-style acoustic blowing reminiscent of McCoy Tyner (“Soulris”, “Uhuru Vibration”), reggae (“Great Provider”), lush ballad playing (“Alexis”), and funky hard bop grooves (“Negroidius Maximus”, “Bottoms Out). The horn charts are hot and tight, and Douglas and Clemons are perfectly locked in; the drummer’s playing is aggressive, almost rock-like at times. “Soulris” and “Uhuru Vibration” each kick off with a brief but potent Douglas solo.