Charles Davis (Saxophonist)

Charles Henry Davis ( born May 20, 1933, Goodman, Michigan ) is an American hard bop saxophonist of jazz and creative.

Life and work

Charles Davis grew up in Chicago, where he first played in the early formations of Sun Ra. Then he went to New York, played in the quintet by Kenny Dorham. Furthermore, Davis worked in the 1950s with important musicians of the hard bop environment, such as Sam Jones, Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard and accompanied the singers Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. After 1960, Charlie Davis worked primarily with the former innovators of jazz such as Cecil Taylor, Steve Lacy, Julian Priester, later with Muhal Richard Abrams and Abdullah Ibrahim (1985). 2009 included a guest performance at the Jazz Club Unterfahrt Tom Kirkpatrick, Claus Raible, Giorgos Antoniou and Bernd Reiter his quintet.

One of his most important recordings of the 1960s was the Elvin Jones / Jimmy Garrison album Illumination ( Impulse! Records, 1963), which contains his composition Half and Half.

Davis is not to be confused with the flutist, who lives in Europe.

Disco Graphical Notes

Plates under his own name

• Super 80 ( Nilva Records, 1982) with Walter Booker
• Reflections ( RED Distribution, 1990) with Barry Harris, Peter Washington, Ben Riley

Other recordings as a sideman

• Kenny Dorham: The Arrival Of Kenny Dorham ( Jaro International Records, 1960)
• Johnny Griffin: The Big Soul -Band ( Riverside Records, 1960)
• Sam Jones: The Soul Society ( Riverside Records, 1960)
• Steve Lacy: The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy ( Candid Records, 1960)
• Sun Ra: Super-Sonic Jazz ( 1957), Jazz in Silhouette ( 1959), Visits Planet Earth, 1956-58 (1966 ), Interstellar Low Ways, 1959-60 (1966 ) Sound Sun Pleasure, 1959 ( 1970) -! El Saturn Records
• Cecil Taylor: Jumpin ' Punkins, New York City R & B - with Buell Neidlinger (both at Candid Records, 1961)
• Archie Shepp: The Way Ahead ( Impulse! Records, 1968)
• Jazz Composer's Orchestra: Communications ( JCOA / ECM, 1968)
• Abdullah Ibrahim: Water from at Ancient Well ( Enja / Tiptoe Records, 1985)