Dave Douglas Launches Greenleaf Music

By I Dec. 22, 2004

Opening another chapter in his award-winning career, trumpeter, composer and bandleader Dave Douglas has announced the formation and launch of an ambitious new record label, Greenleaf Music. Douglas will follow his successful recording career at RCA-Bluebird by producing his own projects for Greenleaf, continuing his vision of an American Music moving forward in all directions. He will also serve as Artistic Director for the label, providing a supportive platform for other cutting edge artists involved in new music. Joining Douglas in this venture is Michael Friedman, an experienced label manager with a track record of success at both indy and major labels. Longtime friends, Douglas and Friedman are coming together at this time out of a shared desire to produce and release quality masters into the marketplace, to see that fresh approaches are brought to the selling of music and to create a business environment that is mutually beneficial for artist and record company.

Greenleaf Music’s first release, which comes out on January 25, 2005, will feature one of Douglas’ ensembles, NOMAD, in a beautiful new recording entitled Mountain Passages. Greenleaf will follow Mountain Passages with three additional releases in 2005 and four more in 2006. Plans are afoot to record Chicago guitar-pioneer Jeff Parker and the Los Angeles based group KneeBody, led by trumpeter/drummer Shane Endsley, as well as releasing a live duo recording of Douglas with Dutch piano master Misha Mengelberg.

For Douglas, a consistent Critic’s Poll Winner and Grammy nominated artist, the timing of this venture was right. “I was looking for a way to continue producing recordings my own way, in my own time. I decided that the way to find that creative freedom was to start my own business,” says Douglas. “I have long admired Michael Friedman’s work at Premonition Records, the label he began in 1994. He’s a musician and he has the ears and the intuition to know how to deal with creative music. That’s important to me. Mike also happens to be a very shrewd and committed businessman, with the ethical sense to agree that artists deserve a much more equitable arrangement, both in terms of creative freedom and in terms of marketing and support.” Douglas sees Greenleaf as a logical next step for him as both artist and producer. “I’ve made 21 albums in my career, and while I’ve had great experiences at big and small labels, it is time for me to take even more responsibility for my recordings,” says Douglas. “And with all of the great music that I hear going on out there, it was also time to try to help broaden the sense of where music is going.”

Friedman comes to Greenleaf just as Premonition Records is ending a five-year joint imprint and distribution deal with Blue Note Records/EMI. “Greenleaf Music is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work hand in hand with someone I consider a modern master,” says Friedman. “That is about all someone in my position can ask for: the opportunity to set your ideas in motion in support of music that truly inspires you. Although it’s a tough time in the industry, I have unbelievable confidence in Dave Douglas as an artist, record producer and as an individual.”

Both Friedman and Douglas’ goals for Greenleaf are far-reaching yet pragmatic. “We want innovation and creativity both in the music and in the business. We want to create an enduring legacy. We also don’t want to lose our shirts,” says Friedman. “We believe we can accomplish this by working closely with the artists we sign to set up reachable goals. Artists are some of the smartest people I know. They know they are generally not well served by the current system and are looking for an alternative approach.”

“We will be offering all our artists 50/50 profit sharing deals,” says Douglas. “Because of that the artists will be partners in making the deals work – they will know everything we are doing and we will be counting on them to be an in