Dawn Davi: Sweet Apple
Dawn Davi

Dawn Davi shows herself to be a composer of no small distinction on this debut outing. A Toronto-based pianist, composer, visual artist, and educator who received her formal education at York University and through Berklee College of Music's online extension school, Davi recorded Sweet Apple last year at studios in Toronto and Pickering. The album presents itself modestly, with nine chamber pieces ranging in length from two to four minutes and performed by seven musicians, including the composer on piano and synthesizer. Modesty doesn't mean tentative, however: Davi's writing impresses as assured in artful settings marked by a variety of moods.

Helping the composer realize her vision are horn (trumpeter Andrew McAnsh and trombonist Cathy Stone) and string players (cellist Kevin Odorico, violinists Tanya Charles and Meghan Cheng, and Alex Toskov on viola and violin), the collective generating a rich, quasi-orchestral sound that belies its small size. Davi's melodic pieces aren't strictly classical works, though they do evidence the kind of formal elegance typically associated with the genre. There are moments, for example, on the release that suggest its material also could be slotted into New Age, jazz, and ambient-electronic categories. In these pretty miniatures, piano typically acts as a central voice around which the other instruments constellate, Davi commendably choosing to present the piano lines sans needless embellishment.

An overview of the tracks brings her music into sharper focus. The combination of lead trumpet, piano, and strings nudges “In the Beginning” towards jazz, even if its reflective, romantic character lends it the peaceful serenity of New Age; regardless of genre, it's a melancholy reverie that while only four minutes long proves quietly uplifting and subtly poignant. Animated by a stately march rhythm, “LUVU” exudes a somewhat militant quality that's softened by undulating string textures draped across minimal piano figures and low-octave chords. Suitably mystery-laden, “The Puzzle” ponders riddles, the piano in this case the inquisitor posing questions eloquently. A similar querulous quality informs the title track, which augments Davi's delicate five-note piano patterns with McAnsh's muted trumpet. No track is prettier than the lilting “Eyes of a Tree,” which sweetens unison strings-and-piano melodies with plucked patterns and softly whistling synths. With percussive rattling the piano's sole accompaniment, “Long Road” caps the set with a gentle outro as endearing as anything else on the thirty-four-minute release.

April 2019