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Nathan Davis
Nathan Davis - tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, educator.
An accomplished jazz master who has quietly garnered an impeccable reputation in both the recording and the academic arenas, Nathan Davis is truly one of the living treasures in jazz and one of its most sophisticated spokesmen as well.
Born Nathan Tate Davis on Feb. 15 1937, in Kansas City, Davis began to play trombone at the age of 17, but soon switched to reeds and became an accomplished player on flute, bass clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones. His first noteworthy job was with the Jay McShann band, and a little later he became one of the few males who has ever played with the usually all-female International Sweethearts Of Rhythm. While studying at Kansas University, Davis lead a group with Carmell Jones; then army service in 1960 took him to Berlin. On leaving the army in 1963 he remained in Europe and was invited to Paris by Kenny "Klook" Clarke, with whom he played for most of the next six years.
In 1964 Davis joined Eric Dolphy for a brief residency at the Chat Qui Pechˆ club and also played on the revolutionary reedsman's last recordings, made for the French radio station ORTF. The next year Davis toured Europe with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and was asked to join the band on a permanent basis; however, he declined, feeling that the touring life was too precarious.
After making a series of excellent (but long-deleted) albums for small European labels - featuring players such as Jones, Clarke, Woody Shaw, Larry Young, Mal Waldron and Hampton Hawes - Davis returned to the USA in 1969 to teach jazz at Pittsburgh University, where he has since remained. Davis holds a B.M.E. from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from Wesleyan University, Connecticut. He is presently a full Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh where he founded the undergraduate Jazz Studies Program and helped establish a Ph.D. program in Ethnomusicology.
He continued to record sporadically in the ‘60’s making two albums for the small Pittsburgh company Segue followed by three more for his own Tomorrow International label, on which he tried his hand at fusion: but, as with his European releases, these were never widely distributed. Davis has had bad luck with recordings: not only are most of his own albums unavailable, but his work with Blakey, Clarke and Dolphy remains largely unreleased. The situation began to change in the 80s: the London-based Hot House label reissued his 1967 John Coltrane homage, “Rules Of Freedom,” and later released the new “London By Night.”
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Donald Byrd: Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux
by Stefano Merighi
Nelle note di copertina, Don Was, presidente della Blue Note, celebra questa pubblicazione inedita del concerto di Montreux di Donald Byrd del 1973 con toni di grande rispetto ed entusiasmo. E il trombettista (scomparso nel 2013) se lo merita, sia per un certo distacco critico che ne ha sempre contraddistinto l'opera, sia per il ruolo di scouter ed educatore che Byrd ha giocato in quegli anni, quando molti jazzmen hanno preferito trasformare un linguaggio ancora legato ai fasti dell'hard bop ...
read moreNathan Davis Quintet: The Hip Walk
by Ken Dryden
There are numerous examples of talented American jazz musicians who had long careers but were overlooked by critics, broadcasters and much of the jazz audience, often because they spent decades as full time jazz educators, which limited their opportunities to tour in support of their recordings. Nathan Davis, primarily known as a tenor and soprano saxophonist, though he was also a fine flautist and clarinetist, falls into that category, though part of the reason he is lesser known is that ...
read moreDonald Byrd: Cookin' With Blue Note At Montreux
by Ian Patterson
Almost fifty years after the event, Donald Byrd's 1973 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival finally sees the light of day. Several other artists on Blue Note's roster had performances released--in more timely manner--from the same edition of Claude Nobs festival, including Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey, Bobby Hutcherson and Marlena Shaw. In no small part, thanks for this posthumous Byrd release is due to the French-born, London-based DJ and label owner Gilles Peterson, who contacted Blue Note regarding the whereabouts ...
read moreDonald Byrd: Donald Byrd Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux
by Peter Jones
What a treat it must have been in 1973 to attend the Montreux Jazz Festival: the featured artists that year included Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Chico Hamilton, Sam Rivers, Bobbi Humphrey, Dr John, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson... and Donald Byrd with his Tentet, whose July 5 performance is captured on this album. It was also the year of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (Columbia Records) album, not to mention several Blaxploitation movie soundtracks, including J.J. Johnson's for Cleopatra Jones and ...
read moreDonald Byrd: Donald Byrd Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux
by Mike Jurkovic
With the release of his chart-topping, funk-fueled Black Byrd in 1973, Donald Byrd found himself in a volatile place in jazz circles. He was being hailed as having finally stepped out of Miles Davis' considerable shadow, while simultaneously many found the album to be Byrd's selling out his bop legacy for chart success. As most defining artistic moments reveal, a little of both were true. Produced and arranged by the brothers Fonce Mizelland Larry Mizell, Black Byrd incorporated ...
read moreNathan Davis: The Best of Nathan Davis '65-'76
by Clifford Allen
Nathan Davis The Best of Nathan Davis '65-'76 Jazzman 2009
The concept of a “Best Of" album seems like it should be set aside for those musicians who have entered the popular consciousness to the degree that a sampler disc would be an easy sell. In jazz, canonical artists like trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist John Coltrane, bandleader Duke Ellington and pianist Thelonious Monk have seen the “Best Of" and “Greatest Hits" treatment ...
read moreNathan Davis: Suite for Dr Martin Luther King
by Hrayr Attarian
Good art is the product of the times, reflecting and often impacting the world it was created in, but great art transcends both time and space. Saxophonist Nathan Davis' Suite for Dr Martin Luther King is a great work of art. It is short but powerful like a bittersweet shot of espresso. Recorded in 1976 and initially released on his own Tomorrow International label, it is a great example of both his talents as a composer and saxophonist.
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Nathan Davis
Instrument: Saxophone
Born: February 15, 1937
Died: April 8, 2018
