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doug de vries - a knot in the wood Doug de Vries is a Melbourne based guitarist whose latest release A Knot In The Wood is the fruit of a study visit to Brazil. Although so-called purists might tend to deride anything that is created outside its source of inspiration, this work should give any open-minded listener pause for thought. It’s obvious that Doug’s love affair with Brazilian music is a deep-rooted one, not just a jazz guitarist playing bossa nova. Indeed A
Knot In The Wood is informed by an array of colours that range
from northeastern sounds to samba to MPB to chorro, an ebullient,
melodious semi-improvised style that can be traced back to the
mid 19th century and that seems to predate American jazz. Backed
by a stellar cast of musicians which includes percussionist Niko
Schaubke, Doug’s acoustic guitar mastery transcends
his technique to create a natural personal language of beauty.
Perhaps we
can gain a better perspective of Doug’s creativity if we
listen to the recent re-release of his Free
Range which was recorded in 1992. This is a much “jazzier”
session with the guitarist shifting between acoustic and subtle
electric modes, more extended improvisations and the beautifully
expressive vibes of Craig Beard
on a couple of tracks where one may be reminded of the classic
piano-vibes duets that took place between Gary
Burton and Chic Corea
during the 70’s.
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