Davenport Rex is a studio-based group of trained musicians with extensive backgrounds in music education and composition. The group approaches each piece as a composition with a cohesive development of ideas and themes that will be evident through multiple listenings of this material. The ten tracks in this debut release span from intimate and sparce arrangements to complex polyphonal works, and include strong instrumental performances and multi-layered vocals. At the compositional and instrumental core of Devenport Rex are Jim Murphy and Dave Gillespie, college friends from Michigan State University and alumi of the Music program there, with Music Education and Music Theory & Composition degrees respectively. Jim and Dave met in the Jazz Band at MSU and started collaborating on original material then. Danielle Blanchard was introduced through shared musical connections in the Detroit area and after a few years of thinking this is 'something we really should do', the three embarked on this original music project. All the material in this debut release is new material written for the release, and recorded over the course of several years. Dave and Jim are both multi-instrumentalists, and both take guitar and keyboard duty through the CD (Dave primarily on guitar and Jim on keys). We hope you enjoy these songs - we have had great fun writing, playing, recording, mixing and mastering this first album!