Surprise release: Overcome by Dave Douglas is out today
As if 2020 didn’t have enough surprises, today we release the new surprise Dave Douglas album, Overcome.
With everyone stuck at home, musicians are learning to be creative using the technology in front of them. Trumpeter Dave Douglas and trombonist Ryan Keberle put together a project that was initially upended by the pandemic, but they pushed through and pivoted to remote recording, gathering a unique group of players: vocalist Fay Victor, vocalist and guitarist Camila Meza, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Rudy Royston. Recording from their homes in various parts of New York state, the ensemble put together a beautiful musical statement for our times.
The result is a six song album of socially conscious music that is being released by Greenleaf Music in digital format exclusively on Bandcamp.
Greenleaf subscribers we’re given an exclusive sneak peek ahead of release day. The band will be meeting live with Tier 2 and Tier 3 subscribers this Sunday, Dec. 6th at 4ppm EST. You can subscribe here if you’re interested in joining our community of listeners.
Since today is a Bandcamp Friday, a day where their fees for artists and labels are waived, we’re offering this album at 20% off! Head to Bandcamp here to get your copy.
Special thanks to Mark Weiss at ‘Lions with Wings’ and ‘Earthwise Productions’ for helping to bring this music to life by co-sponsoring this project.
Check out the full album details below and enjoy the music!
Album Details:
Liner Notes:
The project began in discussions with Ryan Keberle about what more we could do to address the changes towards justice we both see as crucial to our country and our society. Racial justice. Climate justice. Voting justice. Gender justice. Scientific justice. And now the push for science to begin to push back the virus so we can all gather together again. We decided we could make music devoted to civic engagement and speaking out on these issues. And in an election year, we saw the band touring in swing states around the country. Without any touring, those plans changed. But I was determined to follow through on the creative vision for the project and began writing in earnest in April 2020.
The first thing that came naturally to the project was my arrangement of We Shall Overcome. We’ve been singing that for years and felt like with two vocalists like Fay and Camila, we could make a new unique version of the piece. Camila chose the verse, “We Are Not Afraid,” from among several available. It’s so strong. Then I began writing the original pieces. The word “Overcome” started to take on new resonances through the depth of feeling and resilience during this time of isolation. We began the process of recording in July 2020, and passed files back and forth over the next few months.
Once complete, it was hard for any of us to imagine we had not been in the same room when this music was made. I am so grateful to Jorge, Rudy, Ryan, Fay and Camila for helping me pull this off. I’m all grateful to Tyler McDiarmid for helping us out with engineering throughout the whole process. We are Overcome. We Shall Overcome. Enjoy.
Dave Douglas
Repertoire:
1. We Shall Overcome – 4:35 (traditional)
2. When We Are Together Again – 4:25 (Dave Douglas, words by Camila Meza & Fay Victor)
3. Peace – 5:09 (Dave Douglas, words by Langston Hughes)
4. Perspective – 12:08 (Rudy Royston)
5. Overcome – 5:09 (Dave Douglas, words by Camila Meza)
6. Good Trouble, for John Lewis – 7:15 (Dave Douglas, words & music)
Personnel:
Dave Douglas, trumpet
Ryan Keberle, trombone
Fay Victor, voice
Camila Meza, voice and guitar
Jorge Roeder, bass
Rudy Royston, drums
Production Credits:
Co-Executive Producers: Dave Douglas and Mark Weiss
Producer: Dave Douglas
Recorded by each musician, in NY, remotely, between July and September, 2020.
Mixed and mastered by Tyler McDiarmid
Engineering assistant to Mr. Roeder, Mark Goodell
Photos by Dave Douglas
Design by Lukas Frei & Robyn Ardagh
