:: 2012 :: John Douglas is your funk specialist, your acid and Latin jazz star, and a seasoned be-bop professional. With dexterous ease, he rips the trumpet high notes, caresses the low notes, and rocks the melodic scales in between—all without compromise on clarity or tonal quality.  His performance career began while studying at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and expanded into Detroit in the early nineties when he and five others formed the band Jazzheads. The enormous success of Jazzheads’ self-entitled debut recording earned the group 1999’s Detroit Music Award for Best Jazz Recording, as well as Best Jazz Group Deserving Wider Recognition, and Best Modern Jazz Group, which they would go on to win again in 2002.

Douglas continued on to touring in the U.S., Canada, and Europe with notable fellow performers: Gladys Knight, Marshall Allen, Kevin Good of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the R&B icons The Chi-lites. Returning home, he formed his current ensemble, the John Douglas Quintet. Fellow players include Ibrahim Jones on bass, Mike Malus on piano, TaJaun “Butter” Hawkins on drums, and Kris Kurzawa on guitar, creating a powerful sound of funky jazz. Together, this group’s sounds, skills, and stamina indulge the senses, while John provides an insinuating energy that lights up both the stage and the minds of audiences all over the world.

Performer website