Venture Inward by David Weiss

The late 1960’s was a turbulent but exciting time for jazz. The music seemed to simultaneously get more complex and simpler at the same time as a variety of influences infused the music. Some were experimenting with soul, rock and exotic rhythms from the India and the Far East. Others were carrying on the innovations of the second great Miles Davis quintet, using the group’s ever-shifting rhythms and harmonic complexities as a springboard to new compositional ideas. Some somehow combined both to create some new and exciting music. Talented trumpeter David Weiss brings an all-star lineup of young lions together on his stunning and intense 2013 release "Venture Inward." Weiss' brilliant and evocative arrangements are presented by his working group featuring DownBeat award-winning saxophonist JD Allen, guitarist Nir Felder, along with talented bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Jamire Williams. The Point of Departure Quintet is re-examining some of the most innovative music of the period, some of it neglected, some, perhaps, never quite as developed as it could have been as things seemed to move at a pace during that period that left some music from being fully realized as they quickly moved on to the next new thing.

David Weiss has distinguished himself through finding flexibility and innovation in music that has its roots in the mainstream. The jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger has had the opportunity to learn from some of the music's quintessential figures by touring and/or recording with many jazz legends, and leads the preeminent band The Cookers.