LJF 2018: Dave Douglas's UpliftSimon Adams is partially uplifted by Dave Douglas's new outfit, Uplift, featuring Bill Laswell and Mary Halvorson, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall According to Dave Douglas, Uplift perform “music towards positive action,” an artistic response to the many horrors currently afflicting his American homeland. Douglas (pictured right at the QEH by John Watson) wears his heart on his sleeve and proceeds from the music go to numerous good causes, so what’s not to like? I’d be hard pressed to define exactly what I heard tonight (16 Nov 2018), but the three-guitar instrumentation and jazz-rock drumming bring to mind mid-1970s electric Miles, Douglas’s trumpet lead confirming that view. Each piece developed using long-form, often wayward melodic lines, the emphasis as much on the individual sound and techniques of each instrument as on their collective coherence. Some gigs work and others don’t. I have always admired Dave Douglas, both for his distinctive style but also for his willingness to change direction and walk a new path. The audience’s response showed I was in a minority in finding his new band a little aimless and underpowered, despite their melodic delights. But its early days and this is a band of outstanding players that has the ability to transform this music as they get to know it better. |