Douglass, Bill
Douglass, Bill
Douglass, Bill, jazz bassist, bamboo flutist; b. San Francisco, 1945. He was greatly influenced by John Coltrane, who played in San Francisco in 1965; too young to be admitted, Douglass stood outside the window of the club where the master was playing. He did, however, spend a substantial amount of time with Coltrane’s friend Donald Rafael Garrett, who became a major influence and sparked his interest in the bamboo flutes. Performing in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1965, Douglass has played with Marion McPartland, Bobby McFerrin (at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco), Mose Allison, composer Terry Riley, Art Lande and Mark Isham (Rubisa Patrol), and Bobby Bradford. His bamboo flute playing is featured on numerous film soundtracks, including The Black Stallion, Never Cry Wolf, and Dim Sum, as well as in television programs for National Geographic Specials and a children’s series produced by Rabbit Ears Productions. He has taught at the Cazadero/Aptos Jazz Camp through a Marin County Arts Grant, in the public school music program, 1993–94; at Vocal Workshops with Madeline Eastman, and is presently on the faculty of The Jazzschool in Berkeley, Calif.
—Lewis Porter