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Jazz Articles about John Daversa
John Daversa: Junk Wagon
by Scott Lichtman
"Junk Wagon" is a singularly dynamic big band arrangement. It is a pretty wild ride, in fact. Composer/trumpeter John Diversa has completed three academic degrees in music, won numerous jazz awards, and performed with artists including Yellowjackets and Renee Olstead. His big band work truly stretches the players' chops and the listeners' ears. “Junk Wagon" opens with wah-wah horn attacks, followed by brass and woodwind trills. It does not take long to slip into a distorted guitar lead-in to a ...
Continue ReadingKenny Wheeler Legacy: Some Days Are Better: The Lost Scores
by Francesco Varriale
A distanza di pochi mesi dal decennale della scomparsa di Kenny Wheeler (avvenuta il 18 settembre 2014) e in prossimità di quello che sarebbe stato il suo novantacinquesimo compleanno, la Greenleaf Music pubblica un omaggio al musicista canadese, le cui composizioni vengono proposte secondo arrangiamenti dell'autore che mai erano stati eseguiti in questa forma. Si tratta di un ambito--quello della musica per ensemble allargati--che Wheeler ha più volte curato nella sua vasta produzione artistica, a cominciare da Windmill ...
Continue ReadingJohn Daversa, Eric Dolphy, and Jamie Baum
by Jerome Wilson
This program from June 2021 features music from John Daversa, Fred Hersch, Eric Dolphy, Jakob Bro)), and {{Jamie Baum. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 0:00 Thelonious Monk “Monk's Mood" from Thelonious Himself (Riverside) 1:02 The Fred Hersch Trio “Blackwing Palomino" from Sunday Night at the Vanguard (Palmetto) 8:53 Host Speaks 14:59 Eric Dolphy “Mandrake" from Musical Prophet: The Expanded ...
Continue ReadingJohn Daversa: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren
by Angelo Leonardi
Quest'ambizioso concerto per tromba e orchestra composto e orchestrato da Justin Morell per il trombettista John Daversa rinnova il fascino delle pagine che Gil Evans scrisse per Miles Davis negli anni cinquanta. Nessuno dei due ha voluto ricreare quei lavori e si tratta di sfumature, dovute al clima impressionista, al lirismo della tromba sordinata e agli arrangiamenti maestosi. Quasi sconosciuti in Italia Morell e Daversa sono artisti di prim'ordine ed hanno prodotto un concept album splendido, ottenendo ...
Continue ReadingLeon Foster Thomas: Calasanitus
by Chris May
Born in Trinidad and in 2023 based in London, steel-pan virtuoso Leon Foster Thomas surprised and delighted many in the jazz world with Metamorphosis (Ropeadope, 2016). It was his third album but the first to receive widespread distribution in the US and Europe. The disc proved the steel pan to be serious and sophisticated, sitting comfortably in a lineup of otherwise standard instrumentation, and an instrument that in the right hands can be as expressive as the vibraphone, its nearest ...
Continue ReadingARC Trio and the John Daversa Big Band: ARCeology: The Music of MSM Schmidt
by Jim Worsley
What would happen if fusion, already a hybrid of musical genres, was compounded with the sound of big-band? Further, that both genres were stretched well outside the box? An ensemble of bright musical minds came together on just such a project. The results could have been the disastrous soup of too many cooks in the kitchen or, perhaps, something special and creative. Fortunately, they served up an entree which is very much the latter. It starts with quality ...
Continue ReadingJohn Daversa Jazz Orchestra: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren
by Jerome Wilson
Music can be inspired by many things, such as romantic affection, personal experience, world events and social concerns among many others. This extraordinary piece of music was inspired by a parent's love for a child. Trumpeter John Daversa asked his friend, composer Justin Morell, to write a large-scale orchestral piece for him. Morell came up with a composition based on his life with his son, Loren, who is autistic. Loren struggled with verbal communication from a very young ...
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