Kimberly Davenport (b. 1976)
About the Composer
Kimberly Davenport (b. 1976) is a pianist, educator, author, and composer based in Tacoma, Washington. Much of her work centers on musical discovery: exploring unfamiliar repertoire, uncovering overlooked stories, and sharing music that deserves to be heard more often.
Although composition became a significant part of her musical life relatively recently, it has provided a natural extension of many of the interests that have long guided her work as a performer and scholar. Her musical voice is shaped by her childhood in a musical household that introduced her to jazz, avant-garde improvisation, and contemporary music before she began her formal classical training. As a result, her compositions often draw inspiration from this wide range of musical traditions while exploring themes of history, memory, and personal experience.
About the Piece
Who Knows? is the only four-hand work included in the Myriad Voices project. I composed it as an opportunity to perform and record alongside my dear friend Joe Williams, who has been a vital source of inspiration in my own development as a performer, recording artist, and composer.
The piece is based on a 1984 jazz tune of the same name written by my father, Michael Davenport. His musical language as a composer and improviser was profoundly formative to my own, functioning quite literally as the soundtrack to my musical childhood. Of all his tunes, Who Knows? has long fascinated me for its unusual chord choices and its angular two-part melody; its AABA form ensures that the primary musical ideas return again and again, but the tune’s inherent dissonance challenges any true sense of resolution.
I approached the piece as a written-out improvisation on its underlying materials. The four-hand setting allowed me to explore layers of independent rhythmic activity, with each pianist often inhabiting a different rhythmic world before converging at moments of arrival and resolution. In this way, Who Knows? reflects both the improvisatory spirit of jazz and the collaborative nature of ensemble performance, while serving as a personal tribute to one of the most enduring influences on my musical life.
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Sheet Music
Purchase the sheet music from Alea Publishing: hard copy | pdf
Myriad Voices 