This latest release from the ever-prolific Dave Douglas was conceived as a tribute to the late, great trumpeter and founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie. "Brass Ecstasy" alludes to "Brass Fantasy" a group which Bowie led in the last phase of his career. Like Bowie, Douglas is known for his eclecticism and refusal to sleep in the worn grooves of jazz playing. Like Bowie, Douglas pilfers tangential music: for Bowie it was doo-wop and rhythm and blues, for Douglas it has been mostly Eastern European styles.

The Bowie tribute comes in the Brass Fantasy model of orchestration, essentially a brass quartet of trumpet (Douglas), French horn (Vincent Chancey), trombone (Luis Bonilla) and tuba (Marcus Rojas) augmented by drums (Nasheet Waits). Despite the derivation, this project has the clear stamp of Douglas's style, right from the opening dirge of "This Love Affair" which is half New Orleans, half eastern European Gypsy music.

The hybridity continues throughout the album which contains material penned by Douglas for his players (the exception being Hank Williams' "I'm so Lonesome I could cry," which closes the album). The rhythms of marching band, funk outfit, and village dervishes pervade the pieces. There are also some unexpected strains, when Douglas pays tribute to Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava in a suave ballad ("Rava") and the bebop ace Fats Navarro, in a swaggering long-lined tune ("Fats").

Bowie himself is directly referenced in "Bowie," a piece which is funky and pop oriented right from the opening tuba line and ensemble theme. Drums-up-front interludes and avant guard riffs launch Douglas' solo on that piece which alludes to jazz historical figures galore, but always with irreverent humor...something Bowie would no doubt appreciate.