Album Notes

"A style that delights audiences...one of the most listenable performers in town." The Boston Herald

"A wonderfully talented pianist." Ron Della Chiesa, WGBH radio

"Outstanding talent." Ernie Santosuosso, The Boston Globe

Suzanne Davis is a Boston-based jazz pianist and composer who has had a professional career since 1978. She has performed extensively with Joe Hunt and Ted Kotick, both of whom toured and recorded with Bill Evans. She has also performed with John Neves, Herb Pomeroy, Greg Hopkins, George Garzone and Grover Washington, Jr.

Suzanne started out playing classical piano, and from there switched to traditional Chicago blues, which remains a major influence on her jazz playing style. She then immersed herself in the music of Bill Evans, playing for many years with two of his sidemen. Other influences include Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, and Chick Corea.

"Hymn to Freedom" is a collection of some of Suzanne's favorite standards, plus a sampling of her original tunes. The choice of the gospel-inspired "Hymn to Freedom" as the title track reflects Suzanne's belief that personal freedom is the most important thing in life: the freedom to create, to love, to realize one' s own destiny. The musicians featured on this CD are:

piano Suzanne Davis
trumpet Phil Grenadier
bass Masa Kamaguchi
drums Joe Hunt

Suzanne has a B.A. from Wellesley College and studied privately with Charlie Banacos and Hal Crook. She is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at Berklee College of Music. Since 1985, she has led a jazz trio at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, appearing there every weekend. (The bassist on Hymn to Freedom, Masa Kamaguchi, can be heard accompanying Suzanne every Friday and Saturday night at the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.) She also performs in Boston area and New York City clubs and concerts. Her original composition, Transition Waltz, was featured in a short animated film and received Print Magazine's 1999 Digital 6 Award. In 2003 she composed the score for the Asian Task Force video. In 2005, she composed the score for an independent film called "In Between" directed by Deborah Twiss, and also composed the music for the animated short film "Origami Alive!"

She received the Hubert Weldon Lamb Prize for musical composition from Wellesley College for her original piece "Suzanne's Stomp." Recordings include "Suzanne Davis Quartet: First Set" (1991) "Keys To the City" (compilation-1995) Upcoming in 2006: "A High Tolerance for the Truth."
Suzanne also performs on keyboards with Radon Projects, a New York indie rock band. She has recorded two singles with them.

p.s. For a time, Suzanne was also a vocalist accompanying herself on piano. In the mid-nineties, she decided to abandon vocals to concentrate solely on piano and composition, which had always been her intent--she learned to be a jazz vocalist from sheer economic necessity because in the late seventies a piano player had to sing also to get gigs! Still, her 1991 CD "First Set" features some wonderful, seldom-performed vocal standards with the verses included (as Ella and Sarah recorded them) Fans of Diana Krall and Shirley Horn will enjoy "First Set." Suzanne is not yet selling "First Set" on CD Baby but it is available from her website, suzjazz.com. Also at suzjazz.com: bonus tracks from Suzanne's newest CD (soon to be released) "A High Tolerance for the Truth."