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David Manson
adventurous trombonist & composer
About Me
David Manson is a trombonist, composer, improvisor, presenter and music technologist with a
diverse range of experience in music. His degrees include a doctorate from the Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music. He began his performance career with positions in the Florida
West Coast Symphony Orchestra and Memphis Symphony Orchestra and taught low brass
and jazz studies at Indiana State University before returning to Florida. He has been soloist
and composer with the BONK New Music Festival, Subtropics New Music Festival, Society of
Composers and SEAMUS. He has performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers,
Eugene Chadbourne, John Lindberg, Davey Williams and other innovators. He has also
backed popular artists including Henry Mancini, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Johnny Mathis, Burt
Bacharach and toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
David's solo recordings include Modern Music for Trombone (lps 3209) and Beast
(isospin). His releases as leader, composer/arranger and soloist include Particle Zoo with
ensemble SHIM, Fluid Motion with jazz legend Sam Rivers and Infinita Bossa, A Kiss for
Rio,Go! and Aberto with Brazilian band O Som Do Jazz and Radiant Forces with the Helios Jazz
Orchestra. He was trombonist and arranger for Bogus Pomp, a Frank Zappa repertoire band
from 1993-2007.
David is a recipient of four Artist Fellowships in music composition from the National
Endowment for the Arts, Florida Division of Arts and Culture, Creative Pinellas, a Fulbright-
Hays project in Turkey, an artist feature in the JazzSouth radio program, and grants from Meet
The Composer. His orchestral works have been performed by the Florida Orchestra. Recent
television placements include HBO, Fox, CW, ABC, Showtime, BBC and AMC.
David directs the EMIT series of adventurous music at the Salvador Dali Museum and other
venues and is former director of the Tampa Bay Composers' Forum (1995-2003). Through
EMIT and the Composers Forum, David has presented over 500 concerts of adventurous
music. He was awarded the title of Distinguished Faculty at St. Petersburg College in 2015.
He directs the Helios Jazz Orchestra, leads Brazilian group O Som Do Jazz and avant-jazz
group ERG and teaches jazz studies and Pro Tools courses in the MIRA (Music
Industry/Recording Arts) program at St. Petersburg College. He is the founder and director of
the annual St. Petersburg Jazz Festival, in its 15th season and the EMIT Latin Jazz Fest.