The Infinite

It seems that trumpeter Dave Douglas has picked up at least one award from every jazz poll taken in the late '90s and early '00s. A restless composer with big chops, Douglas does something for everyone, using various jazz groups to delve into different styles of music. The Infinite features an outstanding new post-bop quintet that includes keyboardist Uri Caine and saxophonist Chris Potter. Together with a solid rhythm section, the group covers six new Douglas compositions and, most interestingly, three covers of pop tunes. Rufus Wainwright's "Poses" is slow and moody, Mary J. Blige's "Crazy Games" gets a little funky by Douglas standards, thanks to Caine's Fender Rhodes electric piano, but it's Douglas's use of a mute to capture the essence of Bj¶rk's voice on "Unison" that is shockingly poignant. Douglas claims to have finally dealt with Miles Davis's legacy of beautiful melodies on The Infinite, and he does, but this record owes nothing to anyone but Douglas and his talent as a composer and interpreter. --Tad Hendrickson