Michael Davis and the New Wonders Perform Feb. 10

Michael Davis and the New Wonders to perform night of vintage jazz Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center at the University.
Michael Davis and the New Wonders, with an appearance by The University of Scranton Jazz Ensemble, will perform Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free.
Michael Davis and the New Wonders, with an appearance by The University of Scranton Jazz Ensemble, will perform Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission is free.

Performance Music at the University of Scranton will kick off its spring 2018 concert series on Saturday, Feb. 10, with a concert by trumpet virtuoso Michael Davis and his traditional jazz septet, the New Wonders.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The 22-member University of Scranton Jazz Ensemble, featuring student musicians from majors spanning the curriculum, will accompany Davis on a few of the evening’s selections.

“Our kids will only be back not even 10 days when we do the concert. So, we’re going to have them do three or four songs featuring Michael. And, members of his band will work with sections of our band,” said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, who was introduced to Davis by her son, accomplished trumpeter Joseph Boga.

Just 27, Davis has been called an “eloquent trumpet prodigy” by The Wall Street Journal. He and the New Wonders are faithful practitioners of Prohibition Era-style jazz, the kind that provided the soundtrack to seismic changes in American culture. As it happens, the band is named for the model of cornet played by 1920s jazz icon Bix Beiderbecke, and their well-crafted songs sound like something off a 78 rpm record. The New York Times has called the band “an unexpected delight,” while DownBeat Magazine proclaimed that the nattily dressed Davis looks as if he’s “emerged from a time portal from the year 1927.”

“They look like the music they play. … It’s old-timey -- like speakeasies and ‘Great Gatsby’ stuff. There’s a certain glamour to it,” said Boga, adding that Davis’ sister, harpist Margaret Davis, will be performing a concert at the University with trumpeter Jonathan Shadle on March 3.

In addition to his work with the New Wonders, Davis regularly performs around New York City with several other traditional jazz and swing musicians, including Dandy Wellington and his band, Emily Asher’s Garden Party, Gelber and Manning, Glenn Crytzer, Terry Waldo, Baby Soda, and Dan Levinson.

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more information on Davis, visit mike-davis-jazz.com.

Performance Music at the University of Scranton will kick off its Spring 2018 concert series on Feb. 10 with a concert by trumpet virtuoso Michael Davis and his traditional jazz septet, the New Wonders. He and the New Wonders are faithful practitioners of Prohibition Era-style jazz.

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