Dezron Lamont Douglas is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

double bassist, composer, and producer. He has produced for

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

, and

Brandee Younger Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983) is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble ...

Biography

Douglas was raised in Hartford, Connecticut and studied tuba and bass at the

Hartford Conservatory The Hartford Conservatory was a performing arts school in Hartford, Connecticut, that operated from 1890 to 2011. It offered programs in music, dance, musical theater and recording arts to post-secondary students on a pre-professional level. I ...

of Music. He attended

The Hartt School The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

majoring in African American Music and History under the tutelage of alto saxophonist

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

. He is the nephew of drummer and composer Walter Bolden. Douglas has released six albums as a leader. His 2012 debut record, ''Live at Smalls'', earned a positive review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', which wrote: "Learned as it may be, this is living-language music — jazz as it’s practiced, more than as it’s studied." As a sideman, Douglas has recorded with

Cyrus Chestnut Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for ''Time'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes ...

Michael Carvin Michael Wayne Carvin (born December 12, 1944) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Houston, Texas, Carvin began his musical training at the age of six with his father, one of the top drummers in Houston. By the age of twelve, Carvin b ...

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George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Ar ...

, Papo Vasquez,

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

, Eric Reed,

Abraham Burton Abraham Augustus Burton Jr. (born March 17, 1971) is an American saxophonist and bandleader. Biography Burton was born in New York City on March 17, 1971, and was raised in Greenwich Village. He studied at the Hartt School from 1989 to 1993, gradu ...

Eric McPherson The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Tomasz Stańko Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Munia ...

Makaya McCraven Makaya McCraven (born October 19, 1983) is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Life and career McCraven was born in Paris, France, to jazz drummer and Hungarian singer Ágnes Zsigmondi (of the band Kolind, and from the age of three was ra ...

and

. In April 2019, Douglas' playing was featured in the documentary ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

'', by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

. The recording used was from an ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Music'' field recording released in 2013. He is longstanding member of the

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is the son of sa ...

Quartet and has performed with the

Jazz Communicators. In 2019, Douglas was the winner of the ''Downbeat'' critics poll in the category of "Rising Star bassist". Douglas was featured on ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine's July 2020 cover along with Brandee Younger and six other artists. In 2021, Dezron joined the

Trey Anastasio Band Since 1998, Trey Anastasio, best known from Phish, has toured and recorded with several backing musicians, including several side-projects organized and led by the guitarist and composer. Fans commonly referred to them as Trey Anastasio Band, o ...

, replacing the late Tony Markellis.

Discography

As leader

*2012: ''Underground'', Independent *2012: ''Walkin' My Baby Back Home'',

Venus Records Venus Records is a Japanese jazz record label. It was founded in 1992 by Tetsuo Hara, who had worked as a producer for RCA Victor. It mostly works with a select group of artists from Italy, the United States, and Japan, and uses a signature 24-b ...

*2012: ''Ganbare Nippon'',

*2013: ''Dezron Douglas Live at Smalls'',

Smalls Live Smalls Jazz Club is a jazz club at 183 West 10th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City. Established in 1994, it earned a reputation in the 1990s as a "hotbed for New York's jazz talent" with a "well-deserved reputation as one of the best places ...

*2016: ''DE3: Live at Maxwells'',

Sunnyside Records Sunnyside Records is an American jazz record company and label established by François Zalacain in 1982 initially to release an album by pianist Harold Danko. Albums by Kirk Lightsey and Lee Konitz soon followed beginning a sequence of releases ...

*2017: ''Soul Jazz'',

*2018: ''Black Lion'', Independent *2019: ''Solomon Grundy'', Independent (single) *2020: ''Cobra'', Independent (single) *2020: ''Force Majeure'', International Anthem *2021: ''Meditations on Faith'', Independent (single) *2022: ''Freeway'', Independent (single) *2022: ''Atalaya'', International Anthem

As sideman

With

*2007: ''Cyrus Plays Elvis'' *2010: ''Journeys'' *2010: ''The Cyrus Chestnut Quartet'' *2010: ''Plenty Swing, Plenty Soul: Live at Dizzy's'' with Eric Reed *2011: ''Moonlight Sonata'' *2013: ''Soul Brother Cool'' With

*2011: ''Prelude'', Independent *2014: ''The Brandee Younger 4tet, Live at the Breeding Ground'', Independent *2015: ''Supreme Sonacy'',

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

/ Revive Music *2016: ''Wax & Wane'', Independent/ Revive Music *2018: ''A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper'',

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

*2019: ''Soul Awakening'' Independent *2021: ''Somewhere Different'',

With

*2008: ''Outlook'' *2011: ''Images'' *2019: ''Correlations'' With

*2014: ''Return of the Jazz Communicators'' *2014: ''Live at Cory Weeds Cellar Jazz Club'' *2017: ''Serenade for Horace'' With

*2018: ''Universal Beings'' *2020: ''Universal Beings E&F sides''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Dezron Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American jazz double-bassists African-American jazz musicians University of Hartford alumni Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut 21st-century African-American people