About Me
Doug de Vries is one of Australia’s best, most experienced and versatile guitarists and composers, excelling in many musical genres from jazz to choro, samba and bossa nova; styles that form the basis of Brazilian popular music, and is considered Australia’s leading exponent of Brazilian guitar repertoire. He is particularly noted for his sophisticated accompaniments, deep knowledge and daring improvisations in jazz and other settings, be it solo guitar or in ensembles.As Musical Director for Australian jazz vocalist Vince Jones throughout the 1980s, during which he toured extensively in Australia and overseas, produced and contributed original songs and instrumentals on ten albums; he has influenced a generation of jazz musicians and songwriters. During this time he also studied composition and performance with Jeff Pressing and Mark Pollard at La Trobe University, focusing on jazz, choro and elements of serial and aleatoric composition.In 1988 he was invited to be a part of the Australian Jazz Orchestra touring Australia and the USA featuring other jazz luminaries such as Don Burrows, James Morrison, Paul Grabowsky and Bernie McGann.De Vries released his first (self-titled) solo venture in 1990 featuring his own compositions and demonstrating his command of diverse styles and settings; thereafter receiving the 1991 Australian Critics Award for best guitarist.
Throughout the 1990s he embarked on several projects of note including two ABC recordings and numerous guest features with major artists including Andrew Pendlebury, Christine Sullivan, Kate Ceberano, Judy Jacques and USA jazz singers Barbara Morrison and Andy Bey, travelling to major music festivals throughout Australia, UK, USA, India, New Caledonia and most recently Brazil, performing and recording with Mauricio Carrilho, Yamandu Costa and Lula Galvao.In 1996 he was commissioned to compose a featured work, New Metamorphoses for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as part of its contemporary music series Metropolis, which premiered at the Melbourne Town Hall in August of that year. As composer and performer he also contributed works to the Australian Art Orchestra led by Paul Grabowsky. His considerable experience and abilities have also been put to use such as orchestrations and solo features in several film scores, The Last Days of Chez Nous, Six degrees of Separation and Hotel Sorrento to list a few.In recent years Doug has consolidated his long-standing devotion to the study and performance practice of South American music, in particular, choro, samba and tango. With the assistance of the Music Board of the Australia Council he began a research project in 2000 to explore the music and composition practices in the choro genre taking him to Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil for six months.There he forged a strong affinity with Mauricio Carrilho, a choro legend and significant figure in this music, who has established a record label devoted to the genre, Acari Records www.acari.com.br , while documenting much of its history through his work as arranger, composer and guitarist.During this period Doug met with Egberto Gismonti, pianist, guitarist, composer and another towering figure in Brazilian music, who was impressed with Doug’s CD collaboration with recorder player Rod Waterman featuring instrumental classics of the Brazilian repertoire in a duo setting, culminating in the release of the album on Egberto’s own label Carmo, distributed worldwide by ECM Records.Returning to Australia in 2001 Doug began to document some of his work informed by his research in Brazil. ‘A Knot in the Wood’, released in 2002, featured songs and instrumentals from the canon of choro, samba and bossa nova and heralded a coterie of young and talented musicians in Melbourne, Diana Clark, Jaimie Smith, Christopher Hale and others. The album was well received around the country reaching Top Ten lists in ‘Rhythms’ magazine Arts Critics Poll in January 2003.With further assistance from the Australia Council, Doug then began composing for a New Works initiative bringing new repertoire to merge his jazz experience with the recent research into choro. This venture resulted in the 2004 recording ‘Lantana Lovers’, a comprehensive document of original music along with new arrangements of choro gems, with the intention of opening new vistas on Australian contemporary and world music. It featured collaborations with pianist/accordionist Joe Chindamo and guitarist Slava Grigoryan. This was shortly followed up with a collection of bossa nova classics in collaboration with vocalist Diana Clark, ‘Three Shadows of Blue’, featuring intimate duo settings of songs by Tom Jobim and Milton Nascimento.At the end of 2004 Doug was acknowledged for his contribution to Australian music in receiving a two-year fellowship to continue this forging of new musical territory, embarking on another research and recording venture to Brazil in 2005. There he collaborated with Mauricio Carrilho recording a new album ‘Jacaranda’ of all original works, half of them by Doug, the other half by Mauricio, released by Acari Records in July 2007. This marks a significant moment in Doug’s career as he steps into history, being one of few before who have shown a depth of understanding for music not of his own culture and gaining acceptance of his peers both in Australia and Brazil.In January 2007 Doug was invited to participate in the 2007 International Curso de Verao (Summer Course) at the Escola de Musica de Brasilia, giving classes in violao popular (popular guitar). He also performed several concerts including a tribute to Tom Jobim at the Conjunto Cultural da Republica, and a feature concert of contemporary Australian music along with saxophonist Robert Burke. This visit was ably assisted by the encouragement of the Ambassador to Brazil Peter Hayward, currently in residence in Brasilia.In February he returned to Rio de Janeiro to finalise the release of his new recording. Here he participated in the launch of a nine-CD compilation called ‘Choro Carioca’, on which Doug is featured, being the latest project from Acari Records documenting the works of composers from the first half of the 20th century. He then appeared on the historic ‘Radio Nacional’ in Rio in a 90 minute feature programme to promote his imminent release playing live to air some of the new repertoire his latest release, ‘Jacaranda’ featuring Mauricio Carrilho and the crack team of musicians at Acari Records in Rio de Janeiro as well as a cameo appearance from Yamandu Costa, the young firebrand guitarist from the south of Brazil who was a highlight at the 2007 Melbourne International Jazz Festival.Doug is currently working and teaching at Monash University passing on valuable skills and knowledge fostering a new generation of musicians, performers and academics. Here he has initiated along with Rob Burke, Head of Jazz and Popular Music studies and a leading jazz saxophonist, a cultural exchange with outstanding musicians from Brazil, the first concert of which featured Lula Galvao, a brilliant guitarist from Rio who shares many influences and experiences with Doug. This is just the beginning of What is certain to be a fruitful relationship between the music cultures of Brazil and Australia.
