Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Daversa Jazz Orchestra: All Without Words: Variatio...

John Daversa Jazz Orchestra: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren

By Jerome Wilson
May 23, 2021
View read count

John Daversa Jazz Orchestra: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren

Music can be inspired by many things, such as romantic affection, personal experience, world events and social concerns among many others. This extraordinary piece of music was inspired by a parent's love for a child.

Trumpeter

John Daversa

trumpet
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">John Daversa asked his friend, composer

Justin Morell

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Justin Morell, to write a large-scale orchestral piece for him. Morell came up with a composition based on his life with his son, Loren, who is autistic. Loren struggled with verbal communication from a very young age and completely lost the ability to speak by the time he was three. Nevertheless, Morell has constantly strived to connect and communicate with his son who was sixteen at the time this was recorded. The ongoing cycle of joys and sorrows in this struggle and the bond of undying love that powers it is all reflected in this music.

The work is a twelve movement trumpet concerto featuring Daversa backed by a full orchestra of jazz and classical musicians plus a choir, The main musical theme is a simple rising and falling melody Daversa plays at the beginning, based on Loren's own wordless singing, which is then put through eleven variations. The leader is the main soloist, working through a myriad of settings with classical and jazz elements. "The Urgency of Every Moment" has a brisk, cascading motif played by the string section that could be an orchestral cityscape written by Leonard Bernstein or Aaron Copland. "Seeing It Again for the First Time" moves along on a creeping jazz pulse led by

Tal Cohen

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Tal Cohen's piano and Justin Morell's own guitar playing. In both settings, and throughout the CD, Daversa's trumpet is a bright, glowing presence. He shines whether he is pushing out quietly childlike melodies over sweeping orchestral movement or vaulting gracefully and soulfully over a tense string theme.

The obvious comparisons for this work are the joyful humanity of

Maria Schneider

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Maria Schneider's music and the legendary collaborations of

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis and

Gil Evans

composer / conductor
1912 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Evans. Davis and Evans never got to work on a scale this grand, but when Daversa blows eloquently over a rising curtain of piano, strings and voices on "Invisible Things" or plays muted over a slow pulse then switches to majestic open horn as the orchestra gets louder on "A Day Is Forever," the lineage is clear.

Some of the titles of the movements such as "A Day Is Forever," "The Urgency of Every Moment," and "Learning Simply To Be" convey the idea of taking joy from the present moment and approaching life with patience and compassion. The quiet, unceasing beat that consistently underlines the music brings home the fact that this composition is about an ongoing process of communication and discovery. The potent feelings expressed throughout are summed up in the final movement, "It's Enough To Be Here, Now" where Daversa's poignant whispers over the rhythm section's soft pulse seem to be suffused with quiet determination and love.

This music would sound wonderful even without its context. Knowing where it came from makes it infinitely more more powerful. John Daversa's trumpet playing is masterful throughout, giving the element of mercurial, unceasing life to the compassionate vistas Justin Morell composes. For beauty and heart, this music is above and beyond anything else around today. It is an outstanding recording.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Loren's Theme; Searching but Never Finding; Two Steps Forward; Seeing It Again for the First Time; The Urgency of Every Moment; Invisible Things; Walking in Our Own Footsteps/The Circle Game; The Smallest Thing; A Day Is Forever/Like Any Other; Three Roads Diverged; Learning What It Means to Be; It's Enough to Be Here, Now.

Personnel

John Daversa

trumpet

Justin Morell

guitar

Tai Cohen

piano

Dion Kerr

bass

David Chiverton

drums

Conrad Fok

piano

Troy Roberts

saxophone

Melvin Butler

saxophone

Matt Clarke

clarinet

Frankie Capoferri

clarinet

Gabriel Beavers

bassoon

Melanie Villarreal

bassoon

Scott Flavin

composer / conductor

Amanda Quist

composer / conductor

Abby Young

composer / conductor

Lev Garfein

violin

Sheena Gutierrez

violin

Karen Lord-Powell

violin

Steffen Zeichner

violin

Ashley Liberty

violin

Additional Instrumentation

Scott Flavin, orchestra conductor; Amanda Quist, choir conductor; Abby Young, concertmaster. Violin I: Abby Young; Gregory Carreno; Violin II: Svetlana Salminen; Yuhao Zhou; Orlando Forte; Katarina Nazarova; Julia Jakkel; Viola: Matt Nabours; Vishnu Ramankutty; Ross DeBardelaben; Cello: Brent Charran; Shea Kole; Tadao Ito; Bass: Brian Powell; Ethan Olaguibel; Winds: Jennifer Grim: flute; Alyssa Mena: flute, alto flute; Troy Roberts: soprano and tenor saxophone; Melvin Butler: soprano and tenor saxophone; Frankie Capoferri: clarinet, bass clarinet; Richard Todd: horn; Stan Spinola: horn; Antoni Olesik: timpani, vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba; Choir: Emily Finke: soprano; Safia Zaman: soprano; Alexandra Colaizzi: alto; Kate Reid: alto; Sidney O��Gorman: tenor; Noah Zaidspiner: tenor; Thandolwethu Mamba: bass; Dylan Melville: bass.

Album information

Title: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Tiger Turn

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Jane Ira Bloom, Art Hirahara & David...
< Previous

Salswing!
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.