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Jazz Trombonist Steve Davis Performs Feb. 25

Steve DavisFeb. 16, 2012. BOONE — Trombonist Steve Davis performs with the Hayes School of Music’s Jazz Ensemble I on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium at Appalachian State University.

The program includes Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba,” Bob Brookmeyer’s “Boom-Boom,” Sammy Nestico’s “How Sweet It Is” and Michael Philip Mossman’s “Cubauza.” 

Davis will be featured on a selection of compositions by J.J. Johnson, such as “El Camino Real,” “Kelo,” “Lament” and “Minor Mist,” and Davis’ composition “Optimism.”

The ensemble is directed by Todd Wright.

Davis is regarded as a leading improviser on the trombone. His lyrical, hard-swinging style first gained him recognition during the 1990s while working with the bands of jazz legends Art Blakey and Jackie McLean, Chick Corea’s acclaimed sextet Origin and the cooperative sextet One For All. 

Davis graduated from The Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute at the University of Hartford. It was McLean’s guidance and recommendation that helped Davis land his first major gig with Art Blakey in New York City in 1989. Davis returned to Hartford in 1992 to join McLean’s sextet and begin teaching at the Hartt School and Artist’s Collective.

His CDs include “Outlook” released by Positone Records and “Eloquence,” a collaboration with pianist Hank Jones released by Jazz Legacy Productions. 

Davis is featured on more than 100 recordings. In recent years, he has worked with a broad range of jazz icons including the Larry Willis Quintet, Freddie Hubbard and The New Jazz Composers Octet, Slide Hampton and The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni AllStar Big Band, The Jimmy Heath Big Band, Cecil Payne, Horace Silver and Wynton Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

Admission is free. A meet and greet with Davis will follow the performance in Broyhill Music Center’s main lobby.