January/February 1997

Douglas Ewart
Bamboo Meditations at Banff
dB Productions

By Josef Woodard

The ambi-dimensional Douglas Ewart is known in jazz circles for his involvement with the Chicago scene, especially the AACAM, for which he was president from 1979-1986. But there's much more to Ewart's aesthetics than jazz, per se. An instrument builder and sound sculptor, known for making music on objects and tools of his own devising, Ewart creates a new musical world form with tentacles in world music. His new release, Bamboo Meditations at Banff (Aarawak 003; 41:02) is a contemplative set of music on layered flutes, shakuhaci, rain sticks, bells, and other instruments, recorded in Banff, Alberta, Canada. This is atmospheric multi-cultural, non-cultural music at its finest, thoughtful and yet free of overt deliberation.