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Doug Wamble

As a child of Memphis, TN, Doug Wamble has always been surrounded by a vast musical and cultural landscape. From listening to his mother play piano in their Baptist church to his grandfather singing cowboy songs, murder ballads and old time gospel favorites while strumming his guitar, Doug has been immersed in music for his entire life.

After completing a Bachelors in Jazz Guitar from the University of North Florida and a Masters of Music from Northwestern, Doug decided to head to New York to seek a career as a guitarist and composer. Appearing on bandstands and recordings with such artists as Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, Steven Bernstein, Courtney Love, Madeleine Peyroux, and Cassandra Wilson, Doug was making a name for himself in the jazz world when he was signed to Branford Marsalis’ label, Marsalis Music/Rounder Records. Doug released two critically acclaimed records "Country Libations" and "Bluestate", and two singer/songwriter albums on E1 records, "Doug Wamble" and "Fast as Years, Slow As Days", the latter being on his own imprint, Halcyonic Records.
Building on his history with Wynton Marsalis, which led to guitar contributions to several Ken Burns documentaries for PBS such as "Prohibition," "The War" and "Unforgivable Blackness", Doug began working as a composer for Burns’ Florentine Films, collaborating with Ken, his daughter Sarah, and David McMahon for the tragic film "The Central Park Five" in 2012. Wamble contributed original score pieces for Burns’" Vietnam", "Jackie Robinson", "The Dust Bowl", "The Roosevelts", "Eastlake Meadows", and "Muhammed Ali." In 2022, Doug scored his first dramatic feature, "The Subject", starring Aunjunue Ellis and Jason Biggs, directed by fellow Memphian-turned-New Yorker Lanie Zipoy.

Doug has been the album producer and touring musical director/ guitarist for his wife, Morgan James, since 2012 and since 2016 has been on faculty as an ensemble director and guitar instructor at The Juilliard School.

In May 2022, Doug went in to the studio to record his first album of original acoustic music, drawing on his early love of Ornette Coleman and Dewey Redman blended with his deep connection to the Delta blues and gospel music of Blind Willie Johnson and Son House, as well as troubadour and resonator guitar enthusiast, the late Chris Whitley. Joined by the legendary rhythm section of Eric Revis and Jeff “Tain” Watts and the inimitable Branford Marsalis on saxophones, "Blues In The Present Tense" will be released in October 2022.


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Multiple Reviews

More Jazz From 2022

Read "More Jazz From 2022" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


The year 2022 produced a bumper crop of worthwhile jazz recordings, so many it was impossible to give all of them their due in a timely fashion. Here are belated appreciations of six titles that deserve praise. Doug Wamble Blues In The Present Tense Halcyonic Records 2022 This is an album of swampy but topical blues and soul that is equal parts Bill Withers, Terry Callier, and James Blood Ulmer. Guitarist ...

557
Interview

Doug Wamble: A New Direction

Read "Doug Wamble: A New Direction" reviewed by Matthew Warnock


It's never easy for an established artist to make a change in their musical output mid-career, especially if up until that point they have made a name for themselves in the realm of traditional jazz. While some of these artists make a switch because for monetary reasons or to reach a wider audience, others are drawn to a new and exciting sound that they feel the need to explore further and share with their fans, both old and new.

501
Live Review

Doug Wamble / Charlie Hunter / Bernard Purdie at The Iridium, July 2010

Read "Doug Wamble / Charlie Hunter / Bernard Purdie at The Iridium, July 2010" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Doug Wamble / Charlie Hunter / Bernard PurdieThe IridiumNew York City, USAJuly, 2010 Iridium in summer. It's 10:00PM and simmering outside. A Broadway building announced the temperature as being 82 degrees. But inside the club it was about to get bluesy... and funky. The featured performer was guitarist and singer Doug Wamble, who was appearing in an all-star trio with seven-string guitarist Charlie Hunter (combining bass and lead capabilities, frets aimed in opposite directions at ...

152
Album Review

Doug Wamble: Bluestate

Read "Bluestate" reviewed by John Kelman


Go figure guitarist/vocalist Doug Wamble. On the strength of his sophomore release, Bluestate, he's clearly an amalgam of a variety of influences--blues, gospel, bebop, country, even a little bluegrass and a hint of the Middle Eastern. He's as likely to cover Peter Gabriel, Steve Wonder and traditional spirituals as he is write his own complex charts, some featuring his rich baritone voice, all demonstrating his remarkable stylistic breadth on that most unlikely of jazz instruments, the acoustic guitar. He's equally ...

96
Album Review

Doug Wamble: Bluestate

Read "Bluestate" reviewed by Jim Santella


Based on the blues, Doug Wamble's modern mainstream jazz album combines heartfelt emotion with forward-looking creativity. He's managed to fold the roots of American music and classical music into his guitar presentation, which sparkles with anxiety. Dramatic energy invades each bar. As a vocalist, he's driven by the heart. Wamble's verbalizations, not the most polished, are suited to storytellin' with grit, and they eschew the lyrical beauty that follows most jazz singers throughout their careers.

Wamble emphasizes his ...

200
Album Review

Doug Wamble: Country Libations

Read "Country Libations" reviewed by Mark F. Turner


Doug Wamble pours out an eclectic and genuine offering of rich music on his debut release, Country Libations. With an interesting swirl of delta blues, gospel music, and strong jazz elements, the music has both rural and urban appeal. The guitarist and composer has a youthful appearance but plays and sings like an aged master. He has recorded and performed with notables such as Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson, and delivers strong fret board chops whether on acoustic flattop or ...

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59

Interview

Singer/Songwriter Doug Wamble Interviewed at All About Jazz

Singer/Songwriter Doug Wamble Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman

It's never easy for an established artist to make a change in their musical output mid-career, especially if up until that point they have made a name for themselves in the realm of traditional jazz. While some of these artists make a switch because for monetary reasons or to reach a wider audience, others are drawn to a new and exciting sound that they feel the need to explore further and share with their fans, both old and new. Guitarist ...

68

Performance / Tour

Doug Wamble Quartet at The Jazz Standard May 30 & 31

Doug Wamble Quartet at The Jazz Standard May 30 & 31

Source: All About Jazz

Doug Wamble Quartet May 30 & 31, 7:30 pm & 9:30 pm The Jazz Standard 116 East 27th Street New York, NY 10016 (212) 576-2232 Tickets: $20

“A guitarist-singer-composer with a bright future"--Los Angeles Times

“This acoustic guitarist, singer, and composer is a one-man compendium of avant Americana"--The New Yorker

The Doug Wamble Quartet, featuring guitarist and vocalist Doug Wamble, brings its unique blend of jazz, ...

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Performance / Tour

Guitarist Doug Wamble Shares

Guitarist Doug Wamble Shares

Source: All About Jazz


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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Doug Wamble

E1 Music
2010

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Bluestate

Marsalis Music
2005

buy

Country Libations

Marsalis Music
2003

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