2002 · Album
The Infinite
Recorded 2001 · RCA · Produced by Not specified in available sources
Douglas Finds His Balance With Potter
The Infinite lets Douglas' eclectic sense of musical adventure run wild without losing the groove.
What makes The Infinite work is Chris Potter. The saxophonist and clarinetist spent years as a sideman in other leaders' bands, but here he's a genuine partner—not decorating arrangements but reshaping them. Potter's bass clarinet especially gives this record its dark, searching quality. Douglas has always leaned eclectic, pulling from klezmer, classical, R&B, and straight-ahead jazz, but earlier records could feel scattered. This one holds together because Potter knows how to follow Douglas into left turns without losing sight of a melody. On piano, Uri Caine adds harmonic weight without overthinking it. James Genus on bass and Clarence Penn on drums anchor everything so tightly that the stranger moments—the sudden genre shifts, the chromatic tangents—land harder instead of floating away. The Infinite is the record Douglas needed to make at this point in his career. It's not trying to prove anything or challenge listeners needlessly. It's just a strong ensemble playing music that genuinely interests them, and that interest is contagious. On All About Jazz, C. Andrew Hovan called it the record he'd been waiting for Douglas to make, noting it strikes the balance Douglas had been searching for—eclectic enough to stay true to his instincts, but grounded enough to actually move.
Who's playing
James Genusdouble bass
Chris Potterbass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Uri Cainepiano
Dave Douglastrumpet
Clarence Penndrums
Where next?
More by Dave Douglas
All 38 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
