Henry Mancini was one of America’s greatest film composers. He wrote dozens of hit movie scores and countless musical classics. When Dmitri Matheny called me to ask if I was interested in working on a project of Henry Mancini’s music, I was pretty excited. I have always been a fan of Mancini and it was great to celebrate his centennial by playing his music. For this album, we tried to put a new spin on each of the tracks. Dmitri brought a great set of arrangements and we had a wonderful time performing and recording them. As always, the gang did great. Thanks to Brendan, Cole, and Tom for their excellent playing.

Cohesion The idea for Cohesion came when I met these players while they were on tour in the Northwest. I really loved the sound they were getting and their group dynamic. After talking for a bit, I decided to bring them out as the guests for the SFCC Jazz Workshop. While they were out, we played some gigs and went into the studio to record this album. I wanted to capture some of the great vibes of this group with my new compositions. These styles were a bit foreign to me, but I love a challenge, so I leapt in with both feet.

Cohesion Track List 1. Cohesion: 4:50 (David Larsen) 2. Down To It: 4:37 (David Larsen) 3. Movement: 7:42 (David Larsen) 4. Wishing Well: 5:16 (David Larsen) 5. Fedchock: 5:19 (David Larsen) 6. Working Things Out: 6:16 (David Larsen) 7. Mount Fuji: 4:46 (Darryl Yokley) 8. El Duelo: 6:25 (Darryl Yokley) Personnel: David Larsen: Baritone Sax Darryl Yokley: Tenor Sax Zaccai Curtis: Piano Alex Apollo: Bass Wayne Smith Jr: Drums, Tracks 1 - 6 Composed By David Larsen, Tracks 7 - 8 By Darryl Yokley Recording Engineer: Steve Gamberoni, Mixing, Mastering, & Album Art: David Larsen Photos: Josh Wiegelt www.larsenjazz.com https://www.instagram.com/larsenjazz/ https://www.youtube.com/@larsenjazzmusic

The Mulligan Chronicles (2021) is the culmination of years of study into the compositions of Gerry Mulligan. In my studies, I traveled to the Library of Congress to view hundreds of Gerry Mulligan’s handwritten scores and interview countless musicians. Zubin Mehta, Ted Rosenthal, and the many others I spoke with agreed that Gerry Mulligan was a musical genius. Performed with members of Gerry Mulligan's last working quartet.

This album started as a COVID-19 escape. A way to keep playing music, even as live performance was not possible. As the world began to open, I was able to play these pieces in public and learn more about how I wanted to present them. The compositions are taken from the last four years of my life; earning my doctoral degree, and getting more exposure to jazz composers from a variety of eras and genres. This project has also helped me stretch out and learn more about my own playing.

David Larsen - Baritone & Tenor Saxophone Brendan McMurphy - Trumpet, Flugel Horn, & Drums Greg Yasinitsky - Tenor & Baritone Saxophone (Tracks - 1, 9) Ken Peplowski - Clarinet (Track 3) Kate Skinner - Piano & Keyboards (Tracks - 1, 3, 5, 8, 9) Danny McCollim - Keyboards (Tracks - 2, 4, 6, 7) Josh Skinner - Bass (Tracks - 1, 3, 5, 8, 9) Nick Isherwood - Bass (Tracks - 2, 4, 6, 7) All pieces composed by David Larsen Tracks recorded at Larsenjazz Studios, Spokane Falls Community College Studios, and Amplified Wax