Albany Records: The Voices of Air

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Spectacular performances of new works for trombone.

JoDee Davis wanted to expand the repertoire for the trombone with this recording and commissioned four composers for new works (Victoria Bond, Jennifer Higdon, Paul Rudy, and Kevin Cerovich). Then she rounded out the recording with trios for three trombones. Davis is on the faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and performs with the Trilogy Brass Trio and the Kansas City Symphony. She was principal trombone of the Spokane Symphony and second trombone of the Santa Fe Opera. She has presented recitals and master classes through the United States and at the Musik Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen. She is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Northern Iowa. This is her second recording for Albany Records. Her collaborators on this recording include pianist Dan Velicer and trombonists Davin Bennett and Daniel Marion.

Victoria Bond, composer
The Voices of Air
JoDee Davis (trombone); Dan Velicer (piano)

Jennifer Higdon, composer
Legacy
JoDee Davis (trombone); Dan Velicer (piano)

Kevin Cerovich, composer
Lawrence: In Memory of Lawrence Leathers
JoDee Davis (trombone)

Raymond Premru, composer
Felicity, from Two Pieces for Three Trombones
JoDee Davis (trombone); Devin Bennett (trombone); Daniel Marion (bass trombone)

Brian E. Lynn, composer
Ba-Dee-Doo-Dup
JoDee Davis (trombone); Devin Bennett (trombone); Daniel Marion (bass trombone)

Norman Bolter, composer
Ancient Twinkle Appearing
JoDee Davis (trombone); Devin Bennett (trombone); Daniel Marion (bass trombone)

Paul Rudy, composer
Awaken!
JoDee Davis (trombone); Dan Velicer (piano)

Review:

JoDee Davis has put together an album of contemporary music by composers who know how to portray the trombone in a bright, favorable light. Listeners and composers alike are fortunate to have a protagonist of such high artistic musical stature as Davis, who effortlessly evokes a wide range of emotions and intensity while skillfully executing numerous demands. The title work, The Voices of Air, by Victoria Bond, speaks in energetic fragments that alternate with moments of repose.… Trios by Premru and Lynn are dispatched with great musicality and inflection. More notably, Bolter’s trio Ancient Twinkle Appearing is an ethereal, well-paced work that makes clever use of mutes and textural modulations that both delineate and blur individual lines.… This album is one of the more significant releases in recent memory. (ITA Journal)

Spectacular performances of new works for trombone.

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