Firehouse 12 Opens 2007 Spring Jazz Series with the Steve Davis Quintet

Steve Davis, trombone/composer; Mike DiRubbo, alto saxophone; Anthony Wonsey, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass; Eric McPherson, drums

New Haven's Firehouse 12 will open its 2007 Spring Jazz Series on March 16th with a two-set performance by the Steve Davis Quintet featuring Mike DiRubbo. Led by Hartford-based trombonist Steve Davis, an alumnus and longtime faculty member of the Hartt School of Music's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz, the group also features New Haven native, and fellow Hartt graduate, Mike DiRubbo on alto saxophone. This line-up will be performing new music it recently recorded for Davis' forthcoming CD.

Critics have called Davis “a thinking man's trombonist" (Harvey Siders, JazzTimes) and “an expert trombone player who communicates his musical visions with instinctive self-confidence as well as technical expertise" (Paula Edelstein, All Music Guide). AllAboutJazz.com reviewer C. Andrew Hovan adds, “Davis has led a series of Criss Cross Records sides over the years that have duly demonstrated his proficiency as a trombonist, but also his immense skills as a composer."

Davis is a former sideman with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Chick Corea and Jackie McLean as well as a longtime member of the prolific sextet One For All. He appears on more than 70 recordings, and recently toured with Freddie Hubbard and the New Jazz Composers Octet, Slide Hampton and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, and the Larry Willis Quintet. His extensive discography includes nine CDs as a leader over the past decade, including May 2006's Update, his sixth and latest release on the Criss Cross Records label. He has taught at both the Hartt School of Music and the Artists Collective since returning to Hartford in 1992.

About Firehouse 12:

Firehouse 12 is an award-winning bar, state of the art recording studio and unusually intimate music venue located in New Haven's historic Ninth Square District. Its distinctive 75-seat performance space, located inside the recording studio, offers world-class acoustics and unprecedented technical possibilities to both listeners and performers. Many of the most respected names in jazz and creative improvised music have performed at Firehouse 12 since it opened its doors in April 2005.

The local media has called it “a steamy source of bold new music" (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant), noting both its “astutely stylish, updated-classic aesthetic" (Hugh Elton, New Haven Advocate) and its dedicated fan base of “people who bring near-religious reverence to the music, producing an exchange of energy that often fires great performances" (Regina DeAngelo, New Haven Independent).

The Arts Council of Greater New Haven recognized owner/producer/recording engineer Nick Lloyd with a 2006 Arts Award for his “visionary restoration" of this landmark firehouse building, which also earned the architects, Gray Organschi Architecture, an 2006 Design Award in the preservation category from Connecticut's chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

In 2007, Firehouse 12 founded its own label, Firehouse 12 Records, with the intention of releasing a mix of physical and digital-only recordings, including music recorded live during recent performances. Its first new releases, the Anthony Braxton 12+1tet's 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 and the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet's The Middle Picture will be released April 3rd.

Spring 2007 Spring Jazz Series schedule:
(please note revised schedule)

03/16 :: Steve Davis Quintet featuring Mike DiRubbo
03/23 :: Frank Kimbrough Trio
03/30 :: Ullmann/Swell 4tet featuring Barry Altschul
04/06 :: Wallace Roney Sextet
04/13 :: Step In: Joe Fonda/Carlos Merena/George Schuller
04/20 :: Taylor Ho Bynum Trio
04/27 :: Matt Wilson's Arts and Crafts
05/04 :: Tyshawn Sorey Quartet
05/11 :: David Weiss and Point of Departure
05/18 :: Rudresh Mahanthappa Quartet
05/25 :: TBA
06/02 :: Andy Milne & Dapp Theory
06/08 :: Adam Birnbaum Trio