New Record! The Instrumental Music Liberation Front

Ron Davis' 13th Record: Instrumental Music Liberation Front –
The emancipation of Instrumental Music from the shadow of Modern Vocal Music

JUNO award nominated jazz pianist and composer Ron Davis with his ensemble SymphRONica go beyond the confines of musical genre to construct new sonic colors and textures.

• Together with his ensemble SymphRONica, Jazz pianist, composer and Juno Award Nominee Ron Davis re-establishes instrumental music with his new album Instrumental Music Liberation Front on 15^th May 2020
• Ron is a firm believer that the history of western music is one where the instrumental lived in harmony with the vocal. Whether it’s a Beethoven symphony or a Verdi opera, Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit or Duke Ellington’s Isfahan, The Beatles’ Let It Be or Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man, instrumental music historically resided amongst singing cohesively together
• Ron believes that instrumental music has recently disappeared amongst an ocean of vocals and words. This transgression is one that Ron wants to overturn with his 13^th album Instrumental Music Liberation Front
  

  "Instrumental music must be restored to culture’s apex. We need an Instrumental Music Liberation Front. SymphRONica to the rescue. This record is the opening salvo. […] Let musical freedom ring! Let Instrumental Music be Liberated!" (Ron Davis, 2020)

 With his new album, Ron invites us all on a journey to where jazz meets the entirety of classical music: European, Quebecois, Sephardic and Gypsy music

• Ron’s artistic philosophy drives him to transcend beyond the confines of genre towards new sonic textures and innovations
• His mix of jazz and classical music is also tinged with funk, blues as well as world music. Instrumental Music Liberation Front itself pays tribute to the great names of classical, jazz and tango: Bach, Brahms, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and also Reinhardt and Piazzola
• Ron’s ensemble SymphRONica joins him on Instrumental Music Liberation Front. SymphRONica matches Ron’s philosophy by fusing together jazz and the symphony orchestra to create a new rich auditory palette for Ron’s original compositions
• Ron is keen to engage with an increasingly varied audience, with whom he is in constant conversation with throughout his concerts. This has led him to define himself as a Musical Entertainer
• Having already released 12 critically acclaimed albums, Ron’s latest album, SymphRONica Upfront, has been nominated for a Juno Award in 2020 (Canada's Grammy or BAFTA equivalent) in the ‘Instrumental Album of the Year’ category

You can buy Instrumental Music Liberation Front here.

 Album Details

1. Slow Down (Kevin Barrett / arr. Kevin Barrett)
2. Sergei’s Shuffle - after Sergei Prokofiev - (Ron Davis / arr. Jason Nett, adapted for SymphRONica by Louis Simão)
3. Pin Y Panouche - after Django Reinhardt - (Ron Davis & Aline Homzy / arr. Aline Homzy)
4. Brahms - after Johannes Brahms - (Ron Davis / arr. Louis Simão)
5. Bachzy - after J. S. Bach - (Aline Homzy / arr. Aline Homzy)
6. Torontango - after Astor Piazzola - (Ron Davis / arr. Louis Simão)
7. Canada’s Passage Hill - after G. F. Handel - (Ron Davis / arr. Louis Simão)
8. Spatialism (Ron Davis / arr. Louis Simão)
9. The Climb (Ron Davis)
10. Dror Yikrah - with a nod to Igor Stravinsky - (Ron Davis / arr. Jason Nett)
11. Reel du Pointe-au-Pic (trad. / arr. Aline Homzy)
12. Rhosymedre - with a nod to Ralph Vaughan Williams - (trad. / arr. Louise Bevan)

Ron Davis - Piano
Kevin Barrett - Electric, Acoustic and E-Bow Guitars, Loops
Aline Homzy - Violin
Mike Downes - Bass (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 - 12)
Louis Simão - Bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8)
Steve Heathcoate - Drums and Percussion
Brielle Goheen - Violin
Laurence Schaufele - Viola
Beth Silver - Cello

by Ron Davis

2020 JUNO AWARD NOMINATION FOR RON DAVIS AND SYMPHRONICA

RON DAVIS - SYMPHRONICA UPFRONT NOMINATED FOR 2020 JUNO AWARD

“This album is one of the best I've heard in the last 13 years…” – WWPV Radio

Ron Davis’ 2019 release SymphRONica UpfRONt has been nominated for a Juno Award as 2020’s Instrumental Album of the Year.

Ron Davis is one of Canada’s greatest jazz visionaries, continues to push musical boundaries and to lead musical trends. Ron’s SymphRONica, captures elements from every known musical genre - original compositions, newly reinvigorated jazz standards and folksong melodies - with energy, pizzazz and groove that explore new musical realms across a journey of enjoyment. It’s rich, it’s substantial and above all it’s entertaining, presented with wit, wisdom and irreverence by the classically trained jazz adventurer Davis.

UpfRONt, produced by two-time Juno-Award winner Mike Downes, is the culmination of years of performing, writing and growing together.  The musical gifts, from the performers, the composers, arrangers, the producer and the mixers are all upfront and create musical magic. Their musical passion, led by Ron Davis and Mike Downes, exemplifies the sum being greater than the whole. UpfRONt is Ron Davis’ style and the entire essence of the SymphRONica project at its peak.

UpfRONt was a Heavy Rotation / Album of the Week in Canada and the US. It garnered widespread praise. Longtime New York jazz pianist and broadcaster Judy Carmichael gushed that “I loved the CD!”. And now the record has been nominated for Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy and BAFTA awards – The Juno Award.

SymphRONica UpfRONt is available on Apple Music, Amazon, CDBaby, Spotify and other online outlets.

SymphRONica UpfRONt

Ron Davis – piano / keyboards
Mike Downes – electric and acoustic bass / Producer
Kevin Barrett – guitars/ mandolin / Music Director
Aline Homzy – violin/ Strings Leader
Steve Heathcoate – drums and percussion
Brielle Goheen – violin
Laurence Schaufele – viola
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – cello
Daniela Nardi – vocal
Dennis Patterson – engineering/ editing/ mixing

Ron Davis acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable support of the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR and the Ontario Arts Council in the making of SymphRONica UpfRONt.

by Ron Davis