Jim Nova ITF 2024 Concert Playlist

Rocky Suite 
Music by Bill Conti
Arranged by Jim Nova

As some of you know, last summer I was diagnosed with a bilateral hernia. While hernias aren’t life threatening and are common, they’re scary for brass players. No, it wasn’t too much high range trombone playing that caused it… 😉 Turns out it runs in my family and all the heavy manual labor I did as a kid working in my Dad’s restaurant and for moving companies in the summers during college is what set the injury in motion…

Last spring, I started feeling nagging abdominal pain and just thought it was from the journey I was on to lose my COVID weight as I dropped 50lbs. and got back into good shape. 

Last summer it got worse and worse. I played hurt and any time you heard me play at STS, ITF, or on tour with the PSO, I was in serious pain as I bided my time until I could get the surgery to correct this injury. 

On September 7th, 2 days after coming home from the PSO European tour, I was on an operating table, having major abdominal surgery. This was the scariest moment of my professional career, as I knew this would fundamentally change the way I play for the rest of my career.

Even though the initial recovery took about 4 weeks, and I was back onstage shortly thereafter, I’m still recalibrating and dealing with residual pain and adjustments. I’m basically relearning how to play and it’s still ongoing. 

When thinking about what would be my first “post surgery” overdub, I gravitated strongly to the music from Rocky. It’s always been one of my favorite movies and scores, the ultimate comeback story. Since I spent 4 years in Philly when I went to Curtis, it just made sense. 

My arrangement, scored for 10 trombones (2 altos doubling on soprano, 6 tenors, 2 basses doubling on contra), drums and electric bass. It starts with “Philadelphia morning” as I connected to the sentiments of uncertainty and worry coming out of surgery. And then I of course had to have the training montage music, “Gonna Fly Now” as I continue to navigate getting my playing back to level ground. I’m still fighting through… 

Special thanks to my amazing PSO colleagues, Andy Reamer (drums) and Jeff Grubbs (bass) for playing on this project. 

Hope you enjoy my comeback overdub! As the saying goes, “A warrior doesn’t always win, but they always fight…”

💪 😉

Rocky Suite

Parade Of The Slave Children from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom arranged and performed for 11 trombones by Jim Nova

Parade Of The Slave Children from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Flynn Lives From Tron Legacy arranged by Bob Elkjer, edited by Jim Nova for 11 trombones and performed by Jim Nova

Flynn Lives From Tron Legacy

Cadillac Of The Skies From Empire Of The Sun arranged and performed for 11 trombones by Jim Nova

Cadillac Of The Skies From Empire Of The Sun

Happy Birthday to my brilliant, beautiful and talented wife, Lindsey!! 

Last year, on her birthday I gave Lindsey an overdub I arranged and recorded of one of her favorite pieces of music, “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables. I decided this year to post and share the sentiments behind why I recorded it. 

For years I’ve played this tune in various concerts and never really understood why people flipped for it. That’s because I forgot to listen for “WHAT wrote the music, not WHO.”

I knew it was one of Lindsey’s favorites, especially given her childhood connection to the show. Apparently she’d sing parts of it everyday as a teenager, much to the chagrin of her family...  :-)

Over the years I’ve known Lindsey, she’s always had difficulty when I travel out of town without her (which given my career, happens often). We’ve expressed how it’s always harder to be the one who’s left behind. I started thinking about that more deeply at some point and it finally connected to “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables. I GOT it! The song is about expressing a longing for someone you love, who’s out in the world, perhaps in harm’s way and sending out into the world your love for their safe return. So I gave this recording to her and told her whenever I’m out of town, to listen to it, so she knows I love her and am working my way back to her safely.

Happy birthday my love,

Jimmy Jam

Bring Him Home

James Nova joined the Grammy award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2009 as second/utility trombone. In 2012, Nova made his solo debut with the PSO, performing Henri Tomasi’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra. Prior to that, he was a member of the Utah Symphony Orchestra where he served eight seasons as assistant principal/second trombone. 
 
Since 2012, James Nova has found a new passion in multitrack recording, also known as "overdubbing." Overdubbing is a process by which a musician records all the parts of a piece of music one by one and layers the recordings on top of each other to create a full ensemble. Nova has released dozens of stunning and virtuosic tracks of his own challenging arrangements of exciting repertoire for trombone choir. The arrangements employ many different trombones: contra bass, bass, tenor, small tenor, alto, and even soprano trombones!
 
James Nova has had a lifelong love of John Williams’ film scores and in December of 2017, he released a new overdub album for trombone choir, A Fall from Light to Dark. Through the chosen moments of John Williams’ masterful scores, this album musically chronicles the rise and descent of Anakin Skywalker as he transforms into Darth Vader. Truly a one-man show, this album’s transcriptions, playing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering were all done by Nova himself.

James Nova has always been passionate about music education. When not on stage at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony, he can be found at the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University where he is adjunct trombone faculty, as well as the brass coach of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras. Given their widespread popularity, Nova’s recordings are playing an impactful role in inspiring the next generation of musicians and budding recording artists and he is frequently invited to teach outside the region. Since 2012, he has completed more than 85 visits to prominent festivals (such as the International Trombone Festival, American Trombone Workshop, and the Korea Trombone Festival, among others) and reputable educational institutions (such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School of Music, and New England Conservatory, among others) as the featured artist and educator in concerts, masterclasses, and clinics.

James Nova studied with Glenn Dodson at the Curtis Institute of Music followed by study with Norman Bolter at the New England Conservatory of Music. While in Boston, Nova played regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra, including recordings and television broadcasts as both principal and second trombone. 

James Nova is an S.E. Shires Artist and performs on his signature line of Greg Black Mouthpieces.

For more info, visit jimnova.com or hear his recordings at soundcloud.com/jimnova
 

Social media links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.nova.3
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimsupernova/ 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSNMj7Fm--kyxxXRTYqH00Q