Jazz Trumpeter & Composer Dave Douglas on the 2026 Album Transcend

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. We talk with jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas during a historic blizzard in New York about his powerful 2026 album Transcend, out April 24, 2026 via Greenleaf Music. This new release continues Douglas’ deep exploration of legacy, spirituality, and ensemble innovation. The album features his all-star GIFTS Quintet, including DownBeat Artist of the Year tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, members of the Oscar-nominated post-rock trio Son Lux — guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang — along with cellist and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Tomeka Reid. Blending electronics, lyricism, chamber textures, and high-energy interplay, Transcend stands as a spiritual and contemporary response to the landmark Sacred Concerts of Duke Ellington, performed between 1965–1973 and widely regarded as the spiritual culmination of Ellington’s career. In this conversation, we explore: The making of Transcend Spiritual jazz in modern America Ensemble innovation & cross-genre collaboration The influence of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts The GIFTS Quintet’s sonic architecture Jazz legacy in 2026 This is modern jazz at its most urgent and transcendent — needed now more than ever. 🎺 Get the album: https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/transcend Subscribe for more in-depth conversations with the world’s leading jazz artists. For More Neon Jazz: Shows via MixCloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/neonjazzkc/Subscribe via Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/neonjazzkcSubscribe via iTunes/Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/famous-interviews-joe-dimino/id546432639?mt=2 The Home of Neon Jazz:http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/ Contribute to Neon Jazz via PayPal:                    https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ER  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.