Richard Davis (bassist)
Richard Davis ( born April 15, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz bassist.
Life and work
Davis studied privately in the 1940s and 1950s bass and studied at the Vander Cook College of Music in his hometown. He participated in various orchestras of Chicago. In the early 1950s he performed with Ahmad Jamal, Sun Ra, Charlie Ventura, and Don Shirley. In 1954 he moved to New York, where he for several years Sarah Vaughan and Kenny Burrell accompanying. In the 1960s, he worked increasingly with classical symphony orchestras under the baton of George Szell, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez, Gunther Schuller, and Leonard Bernstein. His jazz partner during this time were Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Andrew Hill ( Point of Departure ), Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Earl Hines, Jaki Byard, Alan Dawson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He has collaborated with on the ( jazz influenced ) Van Morrison album " Astral Weeks ".
By Michael Fleming, Lisle Atkinson, Milton Hinton, Ron Carter and Sam Jones he belonged since 1968 to Bill Lee's New York Bass Violin Choir. Between 1966 and 1972 he was a member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra. Since 1977 he has taught at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, in addition he has performed at many international festivals. His students include David Ephross, William Parker and Hans Sturm. In 1993 he founded the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists, the promotion of young bassists dedicated.
Davis released a dozen albums as a bandleader and collaborated on more than two thousand recordings as a sideman with.
Prizes and awards
Between 1967 and 1974, Davis was named in Kritikerpoll the downbeat as the best bassist. Furthermore, two honorary doctorates were awarded to him and the Hilldale Award of the University of Wisconsin -Madison and the Arts Award by the Governor of Wisconsin ( 2001). As announced in June 2013, he is with the 2014 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship will receive America's highest honor for a jazz musician.
Disco Graphical Notes
- Roland Kirk: Rip, Rig and Panic, 1965
- Now 's the Time (1972 ) with Joe Bonner, Freddie Waits, Clifford Jordan, Marvin Peterson
- Forest Flowers (32 Jazz, 1975-80 ) with Stanley Cowell, Ted Dunbar, Billy Hart, James Spaulding, Eddie Henderson, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Frankie Dunlop
- Persia My Dear (DIW, 1987) with Freddie Waits, Sir Roland Hanna
- The Bassist: Homage to Diversity ( Palmetto, 2001) with John Hicks