Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis (actually Strethen William Davis ) (* November 24 1918 in Glasgow, Missouri; † August 17, 1995 in Moorestown, New Jersey) was an American jazz organist, pianist and arranger.
Life and work
Wild Bill Davis played piano and guitar and arranged for Milt Larkins 1940. Between 1945 and 1947 he played piano with Louis Jordan's Tympany Five. He specialized in 1949 on the Hammond organ, was used in 1951 for performing as a soloist on this instrument in its own trio with guitarist Bill Jennings and drummer Chris Columbus. Davis was in the 1950s one of the pioneers of the Hammond organ as a major jazz instrument and inspired, among others, Count Basie, to care for the instrument. His trio arrangement of the title April in Paris is based on the well-known recording of Count Basie in 1955. Among his numerous trio recordings No Mistake (1950 ) with Duke Ellington and Jo Jones are Things Is not What They Used To be and make highlight. In addition, Davis made recordings with Ray Brown and Milt Jackson, with Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hodges, Gloria Lynne, Floyd Smith and Eddie " Cleanhead " Vinson.
In the 1960s, Davis worked with his own bands, at the same time he took with his friend Johnny Hodges plates, played from 1969 to 1971 again with Duke Ellington. In the 1970s, he took on the Black & Blue Records jazz label a number of swing plates on, also played with Lionel Hampton, and appeared at festivals in the early 1990s.