Tony Davis - “Jessamine” Album Release at Jazz On Main

Jessamine is guitarist and composer Tony Davis’ symbolic return to the street where he grew up—a musical homecoming. The concert will celebrate new music from this latest release in an intimate setting—featuring Matt Dwonszyk on bass.

The album’s songs are like keepsakes gathered along life’s journey, each one carrying echoes of memories, influences, people, and places that shaped his artistry. Viewed through the lens of all he has lived and learned since those early days, these keepsakes form a body of work that is both deeply personal and expansive. Growing up in a house filled with music, with acclaimed jazz musicians as parents and brilliant artists constantly passing through, Davis absorbed a foundation of creativity and emotional depth that he now honors with this record.

With their distinctive storytelling quality, Davis’s compositions bring a compelling voice to contemporary jazz, blending deep roots in jazz and blues with elements of Afro-Latin traditions, folk, rock, and classical music. The sense of home extends beyond place: longtime friends and collaborators, Hartford natives Jonathan Barber (drums) and Matt Dwonszyk (bass), who Davis came up learning alongside in his formative years, join him here along with Chris McCarthy (piano), Matt Knoegel (saxophone), and Daniel Prim (percussion). Together they bring the story full circle, weaving past and present into a vivid, contemporary expression of identity, influence, and experience.