Doug Woolverton will take some time off from his “day job” to present a “Tribute to Miles Davis” at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport on Feb 19. Woolverton is best known as the trumpet player for Rhode Island’s legendary Roomful of Blues.
Woolverton was born in Trenton, N.J., and moved with his family to Minnesota before starting the fourth grade. He began playing the trumpet when he was around 7 years old, inspired by his father who played Hammond organ and trumpet.
“He was a full time musician and he would have his bandmates over and they would practice,” Woolverton said. “So I grew up with music from the time I was born.”
After playing in middle school and high school bands, Woolverton opted to attend Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., in 1999. The choice of the college was based on the fact that Dr. Grant Manhart, a trumpet teacher who Woolverton wanted to study with, taught there.
The fact that Woolverton was completely self-taught meant that he had to completely re-learn the trumpet when he got to college. He had never taken a lesson, although his father tried to teach him, and he couldn’t read music. He was encouraged by his father to listen to music he liked and play it. As a result he developed an excellent ear and could play pretty much anything he heard.
“When you get to college, at that level, you need to be able to read music in order to get scholarships,” Woolverton said. “I was so far behind and my embouchure was so messed up from years and years of bad playing.”
After starting from the beginning again, Woolverton could only play three notes in his first year of study. He expanded that to a full octave in his second year. By the next year, however, he was one of seven finalists in a national trumpet competition. Woolverton ended up in the finals, competing against the best players in the nation, for three years in a row. He credits his accomplishment to studying with Manhart.
While he was at college, Woolverton met his future wife, Melissa. She left South Dakota to become the musical director at Astor’s Beechwood mansion in Newport. At the time Woolverton had a cruise ship contract, but two weeks before he was to board a ship, Melissa called to let him know that there was a ticket seller’s position available at the mansion. Woolverton jumped at the chance and worked at the mansion for five years, eventually becoming a manager. Music wasn’t forgotten, however. Woolverton played every night at the mansion in shows that he put together.
“I became a bandleader at the mansion,” Woolverton said.
The couple was married in 2009, and welcomed their first child, Everett, five months ago.
One of the musicians who was playing with Woolverton at the mansion was also playing bass in Roomful of Blues. When that group’s trumpet player passed away in early 2008, Woolverton got a call to audition, and got the job. He left his job at the mansion and joined Roomful of Blues in July 2008.
“I landed the job I wanted,” Woolverton said. “It was great. I’ve been with Roomful ever since.”
Woolverton clearly recalls being struck by the muted trumpet sound of Miles Davis when he heard it on his father’s radio as a child. When he got to college, Manhart suggested that Woolverton transcribe Davis’ famous solo from “Freddy the Freeloader” because Woolverton’s style reminded Manhart of the melodic, lyrical style for which Davis was famous.
“When he solos or even when he plays a melody it’s like he’s telling you a story,” Woolverton said. “I fell in love with what he was doing.”
Kind of Blue is not only the most famous Miles Davis album, it is the best selling jazz album ever. And yet, Woolverton thought, there was no place to hear it performed live. He decided to do what he could to remedy that situation and put together his first Davis tribute, which includes a full reading of the Kind of Blue album, at the Fifth Element in Newport in 2012. The show sold out, as did two subsequent shows at the venue.
“There’s a reason why that record sold so many copies,” Woolverton said. “People can relate to a melody.”
Woolverton decided to upgrade the production values of the show to include high-quality sound and lighting, a large backdrop, and even a fog machine to recreate the atmosphere of a jazz club in the 1950s. The size of the production dictated a larger venue, which led to the Pickens. Eventually Woolverton hopes to take his show around the world.
In addition to the full performance of Kind of Blue, the Woolverton sextet, which includes several members of Roomful of Blues, will be playing musical highlights from Davis’ career from 1950 to 1990. During the performance, Woolverton will discuss Kind of Blue, and put the material that the group is playing into the context of Davis’ legendary career.
The Feb 19 show will begin at 7:30 pm, with doors opening an hour before show time. Ticketscan be purchased at the Jane Pickens Theater, located at 49 Touro Street, or at the theater’s website. The theater offers a cash bar. For more information call 401-846-5474.
Woolverton also has a Monday night residency at the Fifth Element with his group the Groove Merchants.
Doug Woolverton Presents: A Tribute To Miles Davis