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Ghost Canyon

Title - Jesse Davis: Live at Smalls Jazz Club
Artist - Jesse Davis

For those unaware, Cellar Music Group and SmallsLIVE Living Masters Series are thrilled to announce the January 27th, 2023 release of Jesse Davis�s Live at Smalls Jazz Club.

Alto saxophone great Jesse Davis has been a staple within the jazz community for nearly forty years. Davis� heartfelt conviction is channeled through his horn with an assertive, fluid tone and a singular sound deeply entrenched in be-bop and the blues, self-described as �Neo-Bop�.

On this electrifying quartet release, Davis takes the stage at Smalls Jazz Club alongside an all-star rhythm section comprised of bassist Peter Washington, drummer Joe Farnsworth and pianist/producer Spike Wilner.

1. Gingerbread Boy 8:47 (Heath)
2. Ceora 7:43 (Morgan)
3. Cup Bearers 9:35 (McKintosh)
4. These Foolish Things 8:06 (Strachey & H. Link)
5. Juicy Lucy 8:55 (Silver)
6. Rhythm-A-Ning 6:02 (Monk)
7. Street Of Dreams 7:24 (Young)
8. Love For Sale 11:16 (Porter)

This upbeat and phenomenally crafted live album opens on the vibrant foot-tapper extraordinaire, Gingerbread Boy and then launches right into the cultured Ceora (both featuring his renowned blues-centric bebop language), then we get the upbeat and buoyant Cup Bearers, and then we are lovingly delivered a delightful, veritably shimmering ballad, These Foolish Things.

Up next is the joyously enriched Juicy Lucy and the rhythmically-regimed Rhythm-A-Ning, the album closing on the late night, low slung magical melodies within Street Of Dreams, coming to a righteous close on the finger-snapping delights of a near twelve minute ensemble piece, Love For Sale.

New Orleans native Jesse Davis honed his craft while studying with Ellis Marsalis at the New Orleans Centre for Creative Arts. Upon his emergence in New York City in the late 1980�s, Davis took the �young lion� movement by storm.

As a sideman, Davis cut his teeth alongside such luminaries as Jack McDuff, Cecil Payne, Cedar Walton, Benny Golson, and Wynton Marsalis. The artist went on to record eight critically-acclaimed albums as a bandleader under the Concord Jazz label. Despite decades of stellar creative output, Davis remains a somewhat unsung hero of the alto saxophone, due in part to him living in Italy for nearly twenty years, becoming a staple in the European jazz scene.

Pianist, Smalls Jazz Club owner and producer Spike Wilner reflects: �I first met Jesse in 1989 and we became close friends. Jesse hired me for his band and took over the Friday and Saturday slot at Augie�s (which is now Smoke, the Upper West Side jazz room)� I�d nervously take the train uptown for our gigs and each weekend hang on for dear life. Jesse navigated complex bebop tunes at white-knuckle tempos.�

�Playing that fast was something I had to learn and was thrown into the deep end of the pool. Sometimes the tempo was so fast that I was like a deer in the headlights � just stunned, I couldn�t comp or even play a note. Yet, Jesse believed in me, and we worked together there for more than a year.�

�I can�t think of anyone else currently playing that has the kind of alto sound that Jesse has. He is a master of the horn, a master of rhythm and a master of swing.�

Jesse Davis Live at Smalls Jazz Club is a stunning document of Davis� ubiquitous return to New York City to bless the harrowed hall of Smalls Jazz Club with the declarative grace � the quiet confidence that his horn imbues.

The release features a collection of jazz standards interpreted in a way that only Davis can. Davis gets to the core of each tune and tells its story � and his own, with ease, soul and finesse.

With each note expelled from Davis� horn, one can hear the lineage of jazz running through the player�s heart and soul and into his fingers.

Get To Know Jesse Davis

www.lydialiebman.com





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