We had the good fortune of connecting with Domi Edson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Domi, what is the most important factor behind your success?
In addition to the countless hours of practice required to be a professional musician, I think people are drawn to my music because I’m unapologetic about being myself. I’m very enthusiastic about things like cats, reusable coffee cups, and skiing and am unafraid of writing songs about them. For example, I have an orange cat named Minnie who managed to eat all of my seedlings last year despite my efforts to protect them, so I wrote a song called “Minnie the Muncher” which tells the tale of her plotting to get into the protective tent, eating my plants, and my devastation upon discovering the carnage. I also wrote a song called Panoramic that musically presents the feeling of awe and wonder while skiing down the Panoramic Express at Winter Park (which has a gorgeous 360 degree view of the valley while being an easy intermediate run). I tell these stories to my audience members without worrying that it’s “cheesy” or “silly” to write songs about my cats or other such things, and I think my audience connects with my authenticity.

Three musicians perform on stage with a piano, double bass, and drums, under stage lights, in a dark setting.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a professional musician and while I do many things within music, as an artist my craft is jazz bass. It was not an easy path, but I never let myself believe it would be hard. My mentor John Clayton once told me to focus on improving my art and opportunity would find me. I was relatively late to bass as I started my senior year of High School (I played piano and clarinet before that) but I found a new level of passion with the bass that I hadn’t found with any other instrument. I dove head first and focused fully on learning all I could about the instrument- both classically and through jazz. I attended Central Washington University for my undergrad and the University of Northern Colorado for my master’s and pursued every opportunity I could find that aligned with my passion, thinking I’d figure out how to turn it into a career later (focus on your craft and the opportunities will come). By trying whatever I could, I realized I had a passion for jazz performance, private lesson teaching, and arts admin. For performance, I took any and all performance opportunities I could, trying to meet as many other musicians as I could by going to jams and others’ gigs. For teaching, I tried to get involved with local schools to teach sectionals or teach lessons to gain experience. For arts admin, I volunteered 15ish hours a week running CWU’s Jazz Education Network chapter which involved student jam sessions, trips, founding and organizing a large festival (Women in Jazz Day), bringing in clinicians, fundraising, and much more. Spending my time doing these things in school I gained both the passion and skills to turn them into a career after graduation. I got a job as the music manager at Dazzle which helped lead to my current part-time job as the program director of the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts (CCJA) where I am able to use my passion and skills within arts admin to help spread the joy of jazz to over 150 students every session. While making a full-time career with a good balance for myself of performing, teaching, and arts admin wasn’t easy, I did so though relentless work and following my heart. Since I chose things I genuinely love, the work came naturally as even though it’s challenging, I love it to my core. By focusing on my art, incredible opportunities like performing with nationally renowned artists such as Greg Gisbert, Jason Marsalis, Terrell Stafford, among many others have found me. By focusing on my passions and desire to be a positive force in my community, I found myself at CCJA. Performing wise, I formed my trio after being given the chance to band lead at 477 Distilling in Greeley during my master’s degree. It was my first chance at leading a trio, and decided to try arranging for that instrumentation. I discovered I loved it, and decided to record an album instead of having a recital for my degree with that same trio. Every song came from somewhere important to be- both the arrangements and compositions. I studied composition on the side as I had no prior experience but decided I wanted to do so. After I recorded my first album, I thought it seemed fitting to try and go on a tour. After having coffee with a fellow musician who had toured a lot, I decided to go for it and managed to book a 2 week western US/Canada tour that actually profited. While it was an absurd amount of work, instead of deciding that it would be too hard for me or too early in my career, I decided to just go for it and see what happened. I realized you’ll never feel perfectly ready for something like recording and album or a tour, but once I had a vision of what I wanted I decided to just pursue them and see what would happen instead of waiting for the perfect moment (that would never come). While yes, I have done the work on my individual craft necessary to be a musician, I think a lot of my success has come from not caring how old I am or where I “should be” or what I “should be” doing and just trying to do the things I’ve dreamed of doing without fear of failure.

Two musicians playing saxophone and trumpet on stage with a blue curtain background, audience in foreground.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love taking people to Meow Wolf with no prior explanation of what it is. Onefold is my favorite place for a breakfast burrito and Blue Pan is my favorite pizza spot. Seeing a show at Dazzle is my favorite jazz venue. Gotta have a nature day- whether it be a hike, camping, or taking a scenic drive (I view the mountains as the ultimate playground). I also love the museum of natural history and city park.

Three people standing outdoors at night near a signboard with city buildings and a lit clock tower in the background.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve had so many amazing teachers and mentors who both helped me with my craft and encouraged me to find my own path in music it’s impossible to name them all. A few I’d like to shoutout are Jon Hamar, Anna Jensen, Chris Bruya, Steve Kovalcheck, Erik Applegate, and John Clayton.

Website: https://domiedson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/domiedson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DomiEdsonTrio

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClQpimxEl3K9dcUoW9GOJTA

Other: Band camp: https://domiedsontrio.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3p5OO8Nby5I2cGl5kQDkYd

Group of musicians performing on stage with a large screen behind them displaying a presentation slide about jazz ingredients, including a trombone player in focus.

Group of people outdoors on grass with trees and mountains in background, sunset sky, some people sitting and others standing.

Image Credits
Personal Photo- Kelly Maxwell

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.