Virtuoso pianist and musical mash-up artist Ron Davis plays it short and sweet in the live video for Sashagraha — his fourth and final exclusive clip for Tinnitist #MusicMondays!
We’ve showcased a new live video by the Toronto jazz vet every Monday morning this month to preview UpfRONt, the latest instalment in Davis’ SymphRONica series. Today, he’s sharing his own composition Sashagraha, a compact gem with echoes of the Tin Pan Alley standard Ain’t She Sweet. On this number arranged by Jason Nett, SymphRONica features Ron Davis (piano/leader), Kevin Barrett (guitar/music director), Louis Simao (bass), Roger Travassos (drums), Aline Homzy (violin/string section leader), Andrew Chung (violin), Brielle Goheen (viola) and Raphael Weinroth-Browne (cello). The video was directed and videographed by Nicholas Li and shot at Toronto’s Lula Lounge.
Featuring a rotating but equally dazzling cast of world-class musicians from vastly diverse backgrounds, UpfRONt is Davis and SymphRONica’s 12th release. “Music, for me, is all about ‘the hang,’ ” Davis shares. “The musicians I play with have to be people whose energy I enjoy. That’s more important than their technical ability. I’m unconstrained by boundaries — jazz, word, pop, classical… It doesn’t matter. The programs I come up with and the stories I tell are a function of wanting to connect with the audience. I think to myself, ‘How can I shape the arc of the show to give the audience the most pleasurable evening?’ If I do a Bach piece after a Lady Gaga tune, so be it. Sometimes my eclecticism annoys jazz purists, but I ask… ‘Must everything be so easily categorized?’ I’m being true to myself and the audience, and I love hanging with audiences and sharing the music.”
Davis and SymphRONica’s UpfRONt is out now. Check out the rest of the album below:
