Steve Davis

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

Born in Worcester, MA in 1967, Steve was raised in Binghamton, NY and graduated in 1989 from The Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz (University of Hartford). It was Mc Lean's guidence and recommendation that helped Davis land his first major gig with Art Blakey in NYC in Dec 1989. Steve returned to Hartford in 1992 to join Mc Lean's sextet and begin teaching alongside his mentor at both the Hartt School and Artist's Collective. Davis has resided in Hartford ever since.

In May 2006, Davis presents his 9th CD as a leader, "Update" (Criss Cross) which features the stellar line-up of Peter Bernstein, Anthony Wonsey, Nat Reeves, Joe Farnsworth and special guest Roy Hargrove.

Lately, Steve has been leading his own bands with more frequency including an all-star quintet featuring Steve Nelson, Larry Willis, Nat Reeves and Joe Farnsworth. Davis has also formed a new quartet/quintet featuring rising stars David Bryant (piano), Dezron Douglas (bass) and renowned drummer, Eric McPherson. On occasion, the band is augmented by exciting, frontline-mates Mike DiRubbo - alto sax and/or Ray Mc Morrin - tenor sax, Josh Evans - trumpet.

Steve also continues to perform and record with the well-known, collective unit One For All (feat. Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, David Hazeltine, Peter Washington, Nat Reeves or David Williams and Joe Farnsworth). The band has recorded 11 CD's since 1997 for Sharp Nine, Criss Cross and Venus/Japan. Both their recordings and live performances have garnered rave reviews. In 2006, Second Floor Music will be publishing One For All sextet charts in two sets, as recorded on the group's first two CD's, "Too Soon To Tell" (1997) and "Optimism" (1998) for Sharp Nine Records.

Ever in-demand as a sideman, Davis is featured on over seventy recordings and has worked in recent years with a broad range of jazz icons including Horace Silver, Cecil Payne, Larry Willis, Freddie Hubbard (w/ New Jazz Composers Octet), The Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band/Sextet, Slide Hampton`s World of Trombones, Wynton Marsalis (w/ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra) and Steve Turre's One 4 J.

Steve has also worked with a variety of his peers over the years including Claudia Acuna, Eric Alexander, Abraham Burton, Avishai Cohen, Mike DiRubbo, Dena DeRose, John Farnsworth, Jimmy Greene, Roy Hargrove, Stefon Harris, Nicholas Payton and Michael Weiss.

One For All: Blueslike

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 13, 2024

As the timeworn adage goes, sometimes the best things come from situations where one is asked to function in less than ideal circumstances. When you have little time to analyze things and go with pure instincts, there's an air of veracity and spontaneity to the results that is seldom arrived at by any other means. Although the hard bop collective One For Allhas forged a shared identity through regular gigs and a growing catalog of recordings for several labels, including ...

Liner Notes

One For All: Live at Smoke Vol.1

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 13, 2024

Aside from the musical fireworks that make the enclosed sides noteworthy, there are additional factors that mark Live at Smoke as a major event. For one thing, this “on location" recording is one of the rare live dates to grace the Criss Cross catalog. Furthermore, it serves as a perfect summation up to this point of One For All's musical fortunes as heard in the same venue that fostered the ensemble's very formation. Back in the mid-'80s, drummer Joe Farnsworth, ...

Album Review

Steve Davis: Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1

Read "Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1" reviewed by Dave Linn

by Dave Linn
December 20, 2023

Trombonist Steve Davis was born in Worcester, MA, in 1967, and in 1989 graduated from Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute. It was McLean's guidance and recommendation which allowed Davis to land his first major performance with Art Blakey in NYC. His lyrical, hard-swinging style gained him broad recognition and, in 1998, he won the TDWR (Rising Star) Trombone Category. He was later named in the top five of the Trombonist of the Year by The Jazz Journalist Association from 2010-2013, ...

Liner Notes

Joe Chambers: Moving Pictures Orchestra: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

by John Kelman
April 27, 2023

It's one thing to have an established `place in the jazz pantheon, another to continue redefining that position, long after others might be content to rest on their laurels. Joe Chambers' work behind the drum kit with artists including Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Mingus, and McCoy Tyner has already ensured a prominent place in jazz history. His output as a leader may be small, but he's delivered two outstanding Savant recordings in 2006's The Outlaw ...

Liner Notes

Steve Davis: Correlations

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 21, 2023

Surely it must be considered a milestone to chalk up Correlations as Steve Davis' 20th session as a leader. Just contemplate how much the world has changed since the trombonist started turning heads as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers back at the start of the '90s. The record business in particular occupies a vastly different landscape than was once the norm, a fact that figures all the more prominently in the precarious nature of recorded jazz. As such, ...

Liner Notes

Steve Davis: Systems Blue

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 25, 2023

From Kid Ory to Roswell Rudd, the role of the trombone has changed dramatically over the brief span of jazz history, as we know it. Whether it be keeping a beat via the style of “tailgating," exploring a multitude of textural possibilities through the challenges of the avant-garde, or working somewhere in that middle ground that we call mainstream jazz, the instrument has remained a highly expressive vehicle for communication within the idiom. It's somewhat surprising then that a fairly ...

Liner Notes

Adam Shulman Septet: West Meets East

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 15, 2023

Quiet as it's kept, too many of today's finest jazz artists are given short shrift by an industry that seems to value product of a fleeting nature over true craft and a reverence for the jazz legacy. This makes it particularly challenging for a talent like Adam Shulman to break through to a wider audience. A fixture on the Bay Area scene since 2002, the pianist has a knack for accompanying singers such as Paula West and often performs as ...

Performance / Tour

World-Renowned Smoke Jazz Club Announces October Line-up Including The Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart Trio, Pianist Jacky Terrasson, Trombonist Steve Davis, Saxophonist Melissa Aldana, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations
August 30, 2023

Rated the #1 Jazz Club in New York City (Secret NYC), Smoke Jazz Club welcomes a few of today’s leading Trios to the stage in October. For the first time in 30 years, the Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart Trio returns to SMOKE for a highly-anticipated, long overdue, four-night run (Oct 12-15). Pianist Jacky Terrasson makes a rare New York City appearance with his exciting trio with bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Alvester Garnett (Oct 19-22). The month ends with the master trombonist Steve ...
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Recording

Seasoned Bassist Matt Dwonszyk Releases 'A Year And A Day' on July 1—Notes By Steve Davis

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations
June 8, 2022

Matt Dwonszyk is an accomplished bassist, composer, arranger and educator from Rocky Hill, CT. Dwonszyk graduated from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz studying under his mentor and world-renowned bassist, Nat Reeves and then went on to receive his Masters degree from SUNY Purchase College. Based in Brooklyn, NY since 2015, Dwonszyk still frequents back home to Connecticut to perform and teach. Throughout his career, Dwonszyk has performed and recorded with numerous contemporaries as well as legendary jazz artists including ...
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Event

Neil Burns Trio Featuring Steve Davis Kicks Off Monthly Jazz Series In Enniskillen

Source: All About Jazz
September 11, 2014

Marlbank.net (Ireland’s only daily jazz website) in association with Harnessing Creativity and Jazzeys presents The Neil Burns Trio featuring drummer Steve Davis, Friday 12 September at Jazzeys, Darling Street, Enniskillen. Performing at the first of a new monthly Further Into Jazz Club Night, Further into Jazz shines the spotlight on a music under-exposed locally through the lens and ideas of a new jazz generation. On the first running of this exciting new night, Further into Jazz is proud to present ...
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Recording

10 New CD and DVD Discoveries

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 21, 2014

Last week's workload was crushing, forcing me to forgo CD reviews over the weekend. Rather than wait until this coming weekend, I figured why not tell you about my latest favorites now... Frank Wess—Magic 201 (IPO). You might think that the followup to the late Frank Wess' Magic 101 would be replete with tracks that weren't good enough for Magic 101. An absurd thought, since Wess didn't record junk. He knew only one way—smart and soulful. A few noteworthy tracks ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Anita Jackson, Feyza Eren and Steve Davis, Erin Bode, Sarah Jane and the Blue Notes, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
July 11, 2013

Once again this week, the schedule of touring jazz musicians visiting St. Louis is light to non-existent. And once again, local musicians are more than filling the gap with a variety of events, including some free outdoor shows plus gigs showcasing several of our town's fine female vocalists. Here's what's going on over the next few days... Tonight, the multi-instrumentalist Bosman Twins kick off a four-week series of free outdoor concerts at O'Fallon Park, located on the north side at ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: David Sanborn and Brian Culbertson, Steve Davis, Dave Dickey Big Band, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
August 23, 2012

With the return of one of the best known jazz musicians ever to come out of St. Louis, plus a nice variety of local gigs on tap, this week's jazz and creative music calendar is relatively busy for the end of August, which usually is a fairly slow time of year. So without further ado, let's go to the highlights... The local-boy-made-good is saxophonist and Kirkwood native David Sanborn (pictured), who last performed here a year ago with Marcus Miller ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Kurt Elling, Bobby Watson, Steve Davis with William Lenihan, Erin Bode, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
December 6, 2009

The beginnings of winter weather seem to be blowing into St. Louis this week, but as long as you're properly bundled up, there are several jazz and creative music events happening over the next few days that certainly justify braving the elements.First up is singer Kurt Elling's return to Jazz at the Bistro, where he'll appear through Saturday night. Along with his usual trio headed by the fine pianist Laurence Hobgood, Elling will be accompanied by St. Louis ...
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Recording

Steve Davis' Eloquence CD Feat. Hank Jones!

Source: All About Jazz
September 6, 2009

Renowned trombonist Steve Davis has just released a new CD, Eloquence (Jazz Legacy Productions), featuring master pianist Hank Jones and a strong cast including Roy Hargrove, Steve Nelson, Nat Reeves, Joe Farsnworth & John Lee.

Also, Steve will be appearing with his OUTLOOK Quintet (Positone) at Small's Jazz Club Fri/Sat Oct 16-17 in NYC. This exciting group features Mike DiRubbo - alto sax, David Bryant - piano, Dezron Douglas - bass, Eric McPherson - drums.

In addition to his continuing ...
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Performance / Tour