Hartford native Dezron Douglas brought a trio to headline the Annual Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective’s spring festival. Douglas on standup bass was joined by sax and drums.These events are free and open to the public, and I am always amazed at the level of talent they get. Douglas was mentored by Hartford jazz icon Jackie McLean. He has played with such luminaries as Pharoah Sanders, Enrico Rava, Ravi Coltrane, Mulgrew Miller, and I notice he is holding down bass duties for a brief stint with the venerable Louis Hayes. The set on this evening pulled from recent recordings: Foligno from 2022’s Atalaya and some Coffee song from the Force Majeure release. The trio navigated straight ahead skronk and lyrical mournful passages for an entertaining listen. A restless musical spirit, Dezron also has Grammy nominated production credits on recordings by his wife, the harpist Brandee Younger. During the pandemic, the pair churned out critically acclaimed duets from their Harlem apartment. If that wasn’t enough, Dezron is offering his services to support The Trey Anastasio Band, the Phish guitarist’s jammy solo behemoth. It seems natural that Dezron would appear to promote music education with the YUJC, he is the beneficiary of a rich musical education and seems like the kind of spirit that would pay it forward.
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