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Angela Davis www.angeladavismusic.com
www.angeladavism
PRESS KIT THE ART OF THE MELODY in stores NOW With the
release on May 14, 2013 of
her recording debut The Art
Of The Melody (Nicholas Records),
Australian alto saxophonist Angela
Davis adds a fresh new voice
to the legacy of illustrious
improvising artists on her
instrument who influenced and inspired
her like Art Pepper, Paul
Desmond and Lee Konitz. Her
clear phrasing and tone, as well
as the title of her
self-‐produced and self-‐released album,
succinctly convey what drives her
as an instrumentalist and composer.
“I’ve had the privilege of
studying privately with Lee since
2012 and he always tells me
‘…respect the melody and always
hear where it is no matter
where you are in your
solo,’” Davis explains. “My sound
is definitely influenced by the
‘Cool School’ but that’s how it
naturally is and I wouldn't be
able to change it if I
tried.”
Davis is an intuitive melodicist
who eloquently displays her
artistry as an instrumentalist and
improviser in quartet and duo
performances of an eclectic suite
of music including three of her
own compositions and highly original
interpretations of songs by
Boz Scaggs (“We’re All Alone”),
Tom Waits (“Martha”), Charlie Chaplin
(“Smile”), the standard “Crazy She
Calls Me” and the traditional
Scottish ballad “Annie Laurie.” As
she states in her liner
notes, “…there is nothing like
a great melody and the nine
songs on this CD all contain
beautiful, emotive melodies I enjoy
playing and I hope that
they resonate with you as a
listener.” Davis is joined on
the recording by pianist Chris
Ziemba and fellow Australians
Linda Oh on bass and Rajiv
Jayaweera on drums.
The music on The Art Of
The Melody draws on a
variety of sources with two of
Davis’s compositions inspired by a
sense of place. “’The Road
to Montgomery’ is a very
melancholy track about missing my
home and family that I wrote
for my Masters recital. The
chromatic wandering of the piano
part is influenced by the music
of Philip Glass and is meant
to be very minimalist,” she
explains. “’41 St Nick’ is
about what it’s like living in
Harlem amidst the hustle and
bustle of the neighborhood around
125th Street.” Written over the
changes to Victor Young’s “A
Weaver Of Dreams,” “41 St.
Nick” is one of two contrafacts
Davis included on the album,
the other being “Conscientia”
which she penned over the
changes to Arthur Schwartz’s immortal
“Alone Together.”
The Boz Scaggs tune covered here
is a favorite of Davis’s father
that the saxophonist often heard,
along with the music of Tom
Waits, at home growing up.
“Both songs are great vehicles
for improvisation and ensemble
interaction,” Davis says, adding that
they are part of the
repertoire she currently performs
playing in clubs around New
York City in duo, trio and
quartet settings. The album also
features the saxophonist in two
duets: on the aforementioned
Scaggs ballad “We’re All Alone”
with pianist Ziemba and on “Smile”
with bassist Oh which concludes
the CD. Davis and Oh give
each other ample room to
breathe on an airy pas-‐de-‐deux
the saxophonist notes was
inspired by a version of “Every
Time We Say Goodbye” Konitz
recorded on his duo outing I
Concentrate On You with bassist
Red Mitchell. On “We’re All
Alone” Davis and Ziemba display
a sublime level of empathetic
interplay that delicately balances
passion and restraint.
"This music is lean and trim, well conceived from beginning to
end. "
-‐ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Booking
Angela Davis
+1 (267) 205 4904
[email protected]
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Biography About Angela Davis
Based in New York City since January 2010, Angela Davis was born
in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. She started playing the
saxophone at age nine, performed in her high school’s jazz band and
toured Australia with The Jazz Ed Big Band which performed and
recorded with saxophonist Don Burrows, one of Australia’s leading
jazz artists. While still in high school Davis also earned an
Associate of Music diploma in classical saxophone from the
Australian Music Examinations Board. Davis received a Bachelor of
Music with first class honors in 2006 from the Queensland
Conservatorium of Music and while there toured Australia and
recorded with The Con Artists, a big band led by trumpeter John
Hoffman a veteran of big bands led by Glen Miller, Buddy Rich and
Woody Herman. In July 2006 she attended the Manhattan School of
Music Summer workshop in Amsterdam where she studied with Dick
Oatts, Gary Dial and Michael Abene. In September 2008 she moved to
Philadelphia to study at the University of the Arts from which she
received her Masters of Music in 2009.
In May of 2013 Davis released her debut album, The Art Of the
Melody, to rave reviews through the USA and Australia in
publications such as the New York City Jazz Record and The Weekend
Australian. The CD spent 4 weeks on the JazzWeek Top-50 Jazz Album
Chart reaching a peak position of #37 and a total of 10 weeks in
the JazzWeek Top-100. The CD spent four weeks on the CMJ charts,
was the #2 jazz add during its add week and reached a peak position
of #9.
As a band leader, Davis has been featured in the Emerging
Artists Series at the Bar Next Door in New York and has also
performed at The Kitano, Tomi Jazz, Somethin’ Jazz Club and other
venues in the city. She has appeared in Australia and the U.S. at
the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz
Festival, Villanova Jazz Festival, Mainline Jazz Festival, Sunshine
Coast Jazz Festival, Valley Jazz Festival and Bangalow Jazz
Festival among other events. Davis has also performed and recorded
as a sideman with Kevin Hunt, Jim Pugh, James Morrison, Graeme
Lyall, John Hoffman, Kristin Berardi, Steve Newcomb, Joe Chindamo,
Chris Ziemba, the Cecilia Coleman Big Band, the Lars Halle Jazz
Orchestra and the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra under the
direction of Clem Derosa.
Booking
Angela Davis
+1 (267) 205 4904
[email protected]
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"She does her part to keep the cool school alive." - THE
NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
"An instinctively melodic approach." - THE AGE
"Her sweet tone, her dedication to melody over technical prowess
and her interactions with the rhythm section deliver a strong
message – for Ms. Davis, the ‘art’ is found in the ‘melody’. !" -
STEP TEMPEST
Booking
Angela Davis
+1 (267) 205 4904
[email protected]
