One of the truly fine things about the sorcery of music is that its practitioners — no matter how successful or accomplished — can get giddy about their heroes. This even applies to jazz musicians, whose collective personae can occasionally be a bit, ah, haughty.

For one thing, most every jazzer loves to explore and interpret works from the Great American Songbook, which can certainly be construed as homage.

Then there are icons such as Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzie Gillespie — whose styles and works have inspired many tribute albums over the years by established and magnificent artists.

This is the spirit in which Steve Davis — one of the finest jazz trombonists on the New York scene (which thus means "anywhere") — and a longtime teacher at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, recorded his latest CD, the moving and freakin' great "Say When." The album is a tribute to J.J. Johnson, the trombonist largely credited with taking the instrument's theretofore ensemble role and blowing it wide open in the wake of bebop.

The album is also as much a statement as much about Davis' virtuosity and love of the instrument's potential as a proudly acknowledged fanboy exercise. With six Johnson originals and five empathetic pieces from the likes of Cole Porter, John Coltane and Davis' touring pianist Harold Mabern's "Mr. Johnson" salute, the album is an old-school showcase of stunning solos and tongue-in-groove ensemble performance.

Standout cuts include the title song, "Say When" "Kenya" and "Mr. Johnson," but the album really explodes on the final track, a Johnson-esque take on "When the Saints Go Marching In." While affectionately recognizable, "Saints" is a rhythmic and multi-key tour de force.

"We very much based it on J.J.'s arrangement, which is very stark," Davis says. "There's odd syncopation and a colorful juxtaposition of tonality and rhythm. We thought, 'We're not going to do this New Orleans style. We're going to do the New York City-trying-to-catch-a-cab-uptown-in-rush-hour style. I think it works both as a nod to New Orleans and a nod to J.J., and that's the spirit of the whole record."

In support of the album, The Steve Davis Quintet performs Friday in Old Lyme's Side Door Jazz Club. Along with Davis, the band features bassist Nat Reeves, (son) Tony Davis on guitar, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, drummer Joe Farmsworth, and Mabern.

Speaking by phone from outside the Hartt School last week, Davis was seated at the Elizabeth Park Little League Field, a spot where he and many fellow music alums have played casual baseball games since their student days in the early '90s.

"Our kids have grown up playing on that field, or watching us play," Davis recalls happily. "Cookouts, ballgames ... It's funny. A bunch of jazz musicians out there pretending we're David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez. I'll say this. (Saxophonist) Jimmy Green can hit tremendous home runs."

That sort of enthusiasm and attitude has been obvious throughout Davis' career, whether as a member of the elite One For All post-bop band — with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, trumpeter Jim Rotandi, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth — as a sideman with folks like Chick Corea, Art Blakey and Wynton Marsalis, and as leader on several earlier and respected solo recordings.

At the heart of his work is Davis' penchant for delivering exactly what a particular song or ensemble needs, whether flash instinctual soloing or supportive rhythmic playing in which space and phrasing takes precedence.

"The more accomplished you become at an instrument, the more you wanna play — patterns, sequences, exploring ideas," Davis says. "But as you live some life and have some experiences, you learn the truth of the cliché 'less is more.' Most of the time, less IS more. There's a reason I don't do solo trombone concerts. Jazz is an ensemble art form. All the fun stuff happens when you're having musical conversations with great musicians."

As a youngster, Davis grew up in an extremely musical household where his journalist father had an extensive collection of blues and jazz albums. He first listened to Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and B.B. King and classic rock before discovering dad's set of Smithsonian Jazz Collection albums. He tried to play trumpet, but braces interfered with technique so he shifted to euphonium.

"I loved the mellow tone and started playing runs with the clarinets on Sousa marches," he remembers. Then, in high school, a band teacher introduced Davis to slide trombone and, when he heard Johnson's trombone work on Horace Silver's "The Cape Verdean Blues," it was the epiphany moment.

Davis says, "Johnson's tone, the clarity and conviction of his playing ... it suddenly all seemed so clear and I thought, 'Wow.' It was so logical to me."

He studied jazz at the Hartt School, began sitting in with a vibrant Hartford jazz scene, and soon shifted to New York City, where his career took off.

Describing his style, Davis laughs and says, "For me, it's always sheer desperation. My back's up against the wall, and I dread sounding awful. I just sing with my heart and soul through my horn and hope it sounds pleasant for the listener. The last thing I want it to be a trombone player. I want to be a voice in music who happens to be a pretty good trombone player. There are plenty of guys and gals who can technically play circles around me, but I hope I blend a little bit of everything into a something that really communicates with the listener."

Steve Davis Quintet, 8:30 p.m. Friday, Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme St., Old Lyme; $38.50; (860) 434-0886.