Lowell Davidson

Lowell Davidson ( b. 1941 in Boston, † 1990) was an American jazz pianist and composer and bassist, organist and percussionist of free jazz.

Life and work

Lowell Davidson had piano lessons as a child, studied biochemistry at Harvard University and had while studying a trio. He then moved to New York City, where he worked with various trio and quartet formations, and a with Michael Mantler, Kent Carter, Paul Motian, Billy Elgart and David Izenzon. Davidson came in 1964 in the Cellar Café in a series of concerts that had been organized by Bill Dixon; among the guests was Bernard Stollman, head of the avant-garde label ESP-Disk.

Davidson also worked with Ornette Coleman, who eventually organized a recording session under Davidson's line of ESP-Disk. On 27 July 1965 the album Lowell Davidson Trio emerged (ESP 1012) with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Milford Graves. Davidson then worked in other occupations Trio with Mario Pavone and Laurence Cook, and in a trio with Ornette Coleman as a violinist and trumpeter, and George Russell; also in a quartet lineup, the New York Art Quartet, with Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, bassist Lenir Worrell and Davidson on drums; However, there were no further recordings.

Davidson returned to Boston and worked only sporadically as a musician, also played the organ and a bass made ​​of aluminum. He drove his music privately in the form of audio cassettes and occasionally worked with younger musicians such as the guitarist Joe Morris, bassist Jon Voigt and drummer Laurence Cook. He died at the age of 49 from tuberculosis.

Appreciation

The critic Raul d' Gama Rosa called Lowell Davidson " as one of the most perfect artist. As a pianist Lowell Davidson Concerning operative over a great virtuosity and play with such a harmonic sophistication, which he is to be compared with the likes of Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols and Don Pullen. " The critic emphasizes in particular the importance of Davidson's compositions, such as " L", " Stately 1", " Dunce ", " Ad Hoc" and "Strong Tears". Michael G. Nastos at Allmusic sees in Lowell Davdisons " free flowing, sensitive game" on the ESP album parallels to the style of Cecil Taylor, Mal Waldron and Paul Bley,

The authors Richard Cook and Brian Morton, although single but also fascinating work call the ESP-Disk album Davidsons on record; he played " with a spidery delicacy; his right hand works incessantly in constant variation on the same octaves, while the left hand in the bass department designs the undeutlichsten counterpoints. Although Davidson's game was not comparable with Taylor's grandiosity, he Rather, it comes back on Herbie Nichols ' peculiar eclecticism ".

Joe Morris interpreted Lowell Davidson's compositions on his album Antennae (1997); they are originally from The Green Book, which Davidson had provided as a guide to improvisation. " Lowell Davidson Trio" from 1965 was included in the list Wire The Wire 's " 100 Records That Set The World On Fire (While No One Was Listening ) ".