Better Than TV: Dive Into the Debut Album of Doug Rosenberg

Like kids glued to Saturday morning cartoons, Chicago saxophonist Doug Rosenberg’s debut album Better Than TV will have jazz fans at rapt attention. Any listener will be swept up in the fireworks display of top-notch musicians in action. Fittingly, the album is constantly changing, exciting, playful and unrelenting. It’s an animation full of colorful sounds that are too fleeting to fully grasp, but together, tell a story greater than the sum of their parts.

Rosenberg, the Logan Square-based composer loves his neighborhood and is passionate about music: “I live and breathe it, teach it, listen, and grow from it.” He has found like-minded players to pursue that passion with, and is coming into his own as a composer with his debut album.

 “I’ve been writing music all my life, and finally got the courage and wherewithal to actually produce it,” says Doug. Receiving a boost from the CAAP (Community Arts Assistance Program) grant “was a big part of my getting my mojo to make this project happen.” Up to now, Rosenberg is best known for his work with the Chicago powerhouse band Eastern Blok.  Besides that, he has performed as a side man for numerous projects on not one, but three instruments: saxophones, flutes and clarinets. He has performed with historic jazz musicians like Robert Glasper and Bob Moses. Stir in over 10,000 hours practicing, and Doug has honed “a pretty unique melodic vocabulary.”

All this hard work is front and center throughout Better Than TV, which roars like an action movie, distilled into a pure musical form. Quiet moments in the track “Forged Stability” are restrained; but vital rather than solemn. “Dirty Basement Jazz” takes listeners on a smoky coffee break before the espresso-induced fun of tracks like “Mato Grasso”.

“My art form is improvisation. For amateur listeners, they will hear some pretty sounds and fun groove. For deeper listeners, there is a ton of information packed in there. It will unfold with time as art music does,” says Doug.

See and hear it live TONIGHT, two sets at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Ct. Chicago, IL 60605. Doug Rosenberg appears with Rob Clearfield, Mike Harmon and Juan Pastor. Albums to be available for sale and at www.dougrosenberg.com.