Richard Davis

[colinmce]

83 today. I didn't see a dedicated thread on here, so here it is. What can you say? For my money, the greatest bassist who ever lived, Mingus included. Here's to many more years!

I'm particularly fond of his work on Out To Lunch, At the Five Spot, Point of Departure and, of course, Astral Weeks.

[brownie]

Yes, yes, yes...

another favorite is the 'Alone Together' duo with Eric Dolphy on the 'Conversations' session.

[B. Clugston]

He's amazing: bop, pop, inside, outside, Stravinsky, Springsteen—he can do it all. A couple of not-so-well-known favourites: Lalo Schifrin's Marquis de Sade album and Carman Moore's Four Movements for a Fashionable Five-Toed Dragon (with Sam Rivers).

[king ubu]

yes indeed!

also the albums with Booker Ervin!

and with Roland Hanna and Mel Lewis, he formed one of the finest big band rhythm sections, too!

[Hot Ptah]

Richard Davis' recent recordings show him to be at a career peak. The arco bass features on his 2008 album, Blue Monk, are amazing:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OUbl4l2rL._SX300_.jpg

Here is another excellent 2008 album, Madison:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41n6RNQbw0L._SX300_.jpg

Edited April 15, 2013 by Hot Ptah

[Hot Ptah]

The liner notes and photos to his Reminisces CD are very interesting. I love the photo of Sun Ra as a young man sitting in Richard's family's living room. Richard grew up with, and played with, musicians of every style and era, from swing to bop to avant garde, from the beginning of his career. His discography is quite amazing and is set out on his website:

http://richarddavis.org/?page_id=42

Edited April 15, 2013 by Hot Ptah

[mjazzg]

Loved him on 'Astral Weeks' before I knew who he was and what Jazz was.

as well as sessions already mentioned I'm particularly fond of the duets with Walt Dickerson on Steeplechase

Edited April 15, 2013 by mjazzg

[Carl Baugher]

Very versatile musician. Good to know he's still out there!

[Д.Д.]

Great bassist, even though I find him a bit too busy and disruptive at times. I like him most in duos with Archie Shepp and Walt Dickerson.

[v1p]

Judgment, Out to Lunch, Point of Departure, Dialogue... Richard is the greatest bassist of all time.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Davis!

[clifford_thornton]

^

Strong statement above that I'm not sure I agree with, but I'm glad he has made the music he's made, and hope he's healthy, happy, and with us for years to come.

[mikeweil]

Andrew Hill, too, called him the greatest bassist in existence after one Blue Note sessions. There are other great ones, but he sure belongs into the pantheon of the greatest jazz bass players, that is beyond dispute. That Jaki Byard/Richard Davis/Alan Dawson team on the Booker Ervin Prestige sessions is fantastic! Just as the Hanna/Davis/Lewis trio ...

Edited April 15, 2013 by mikeweil

[Chuck Nessa]

As someone who's had professional dealings with him, he's a prince.

Edited April 15, 2013 by Chuck Nessa

[v1p]

"Lemme tell you a sideline story," says Richard Davis. "I was in my car about a year or two ago, and when I turned the radio on there was a jazz show. I remember [listening to] the bass player, and I said to myself, 'Good God, who is that? I hope I never run into that guy!' After the song was over, the DJ said, 'That was Andrew Hill with Richard Davis on bass.'" Davis erupts in a throaty laugh and says, "It was myself! I thought, 'Damn, I should get back to doing some of that.'"

JazzTimes, April 2005

Edited April 15, 2013 by v1p

[Steve Reynolds]

^

Strong statement above that I'm not sure I agree with, but I'm glad he has made the music he's made, and hope he's healthy, happy, and with us for years to come.

I've not seen Richard Davis live but I have seen Dave Holland, Barry Guy and Mark Dresser among others so....

I like me some hyperbole as well but long live Mr. Davis

[Joe]

Those wishing to dig REALLY deep into Mr. Davis extensive and diverse discography might be interested to hear his work with Don Shirley...

[Chuck Nessa]

Milt Hinton, Truck Parham, Israel Crosby, Wilbur Ware, Richard Davis and Malachi Favors seem to be the Chicago line for a while. Not bad.

[.:.impossible]

I love listening to bassists, especially solo.

How about another Chicago bassist: Fred Hopkins? Oh, Ronnie Boykins!

Not to turn this thread into a list of bassists, but I think Henry Grimes is also in this league of bassists who played their part extremely well in many settings.

Yes to Richard Davis, and yes to double bass solos

[Justin V]

Like many, I'm a fan of his work with Andrew Hill and elsewhere. It's also great to hear him with Cecil McBee on Burning Spirits. The most recent recordings I have with him are with Hank and Elvin Jones. Here's wishing a master many more years.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Justin V

[paul secor]

I don't know who the "greatest bassist" is. Mr. Davis is certainly a very fine bassist/musician.

Happy to see that brownie mentioned the duo with Eric Dolphy.

edit: And a very happy birthday to Richard Davis.

Edited April 16, 2013 by paul secor

[JSngry]

[jeffcrom]

I feel that I've probably told this story here in some other context, but:

Richard Davis contributed greatly to my becoming the person and musician I am. When I was 12 and had just taken up the saxophone, my mother gave me an album for Christmas - Budd Johnson's Ya! Ya! on Argo. She picked it from the cutout rack at a now-defunct department store called Treasure Island and chose it, I'm sure, because it was the only record there by a saxophonist.

I was pretty disappointed - I wanted a rock record like my older brother got. But I played the record, and liked half of the tunes right away, including one called "Exotique." My favorite part of that tune was Richard Davis' truly bizarre arco bass solo, which is full of microtones and dissonant double stops. It was a revelation to me - when I heard it, I thought, "Oh! You can do that."

I credit that solo with planting the seed that grew into my taste for the unusual and the avant-garde in music. And I still have that Budd Johnson album - but now I like the rest of the tunes, too.

[soulpope]

His recordings with Booker Ervin are very important to me.

Furthermore, I really like his ferocious playíng on Hannibal Marvin Peterson`s Muse outing from 1972 titled "Epistropy&Now`s the Time". A friend of mine who witnessed subject concert mentioned that Richard Davis had his fingers bleeding after the gig.......

[Hot Ptah]

I have seen all of the big name bassists live from the late 1970s until now, and Richard Davis is without a doubt the overall best in live performance. When he plays everything he can play, when he goes down as deep as he can, he has no equal. His intensity, inspiration and creativity are quite amazing.

I echo Chuck Nessa's thoughts about him being a good guy. He was my jazz history professor in college. Many liberal arts students took the course to try to get an easy A, much like taking an introductory survey course in art history. I had a true interest in jazz but went into the class wondering how valuable it would really be. I encountered the single most inspiring teacher I had at any level of schooling, in any subject matter. He was funny, insightful, and made learning easy and fun. He demanded commitment and performance in his students, but gave back a lot.

Looking back on it now as an old adult, I can see how unusual it was. Richard treated the college students with friendliness and respect, was a valuable life mentor to many of them (including many non-music majors), and genuinely liked his students as people. He showed no ego with his students. Maybe that is why he held his professor position for over 35 years, while his predecessors in the position were only able to stay for 1 to 3 years.

An overlooked gem in his career as a recording leader is As One, on Muse. It is a live album of duets with pianist Jill McManus.

Some of the other albums which he recorded as a leader which I think are notable are Fancy Free (with Eddie Henderson, Joe Henderson and Billy Cobham), Philosophy of the Spiritual (reissued as With Understanding), Muses For Richard Davis, Persia My Dear, and Blue Monk (mentioned above, from 2008).

[Hot Ptah]

His recordings with Booker Ervin are very important to me.

Furthermore, I really like his ferocious playíng on Hannibal Marvin Peterson`s Muse outing from 1972 titled "Epistropy&Now`s the Time". A friend of mine who witnessed subject concert mentioned that Richard Davis had his fingers bleeding after the gig.......

I agree that "Epistrophy and Now's The Time" is a great album. Slight correction--while Hannibal Marvin Peterson plays on it, Richard Davis is the leader and the album is under his name.