I met Bill Douglass shortly after moving to Nevada County in 2002. Upon hearing him play the bass, I was immediately impressed by his beautiful tone and lyrical approach to his instrument. I was equally impressed with his bamboo flute playing and his open ended approach to music and creativity. After hearing him play in several diverse contexts and getting to hang with him for a bit, I asked him if he if I might record him for a track on my album. He played on “Down to Earth”. I feel very lucky to have his beautiful playing grace my record!
Bill has played through the years with many musicians I greatly admire. In the 70s, he played in an absolutely “mind blowing” band led by pianist/composer Art Lande called Rubisa Patrol. Mark Isham also played in this band. They recorded two amazing albums for ECM records.
He has recorded with Tom Waits and has played in an amazing band with Paul McCandless called Hemispheres.
He currently co-runs a great local music education program called Sierra Jazz Society with his lovely wife and flutist Nora Nausbaum. They run an annual summer jazz camp where musicians of all ages can benefit from an expert and open spirited instruction in the fine art of music improvisation. I am currently fortunate enough to play with Bill regularly in both of my bands Tumble and Robert Heirendt’s Sea Creatures. I am really happy to have his as a friend and musical collaborator!
Check out his website below: