Clearly Dave Douglas is feeling it in 2026. The trumpeter/composer has already released the remarkable Four Freedoms this year, and now he’s lined up album #2. Transcend reunites the band with whom he recorded the exceptional Gifts: saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia, and drummer Ian Chang, adding the extraordinary Tomeka Reid on cello. While Gifts paid tribute to Duke Ellington’s co-composer Billy Strayhorn, Transcend salutes the man himself, with a similar blend of challenging originals and Ellington classics.
As on Gifts, Douglas takes advantage of his players’ unique skills. As members of experimental rock band Son Lux, Chang and Bhatia know how to casually kick holes in musical…

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