Nathan Davis

Born on February 15, 1937, in Kansas City, Kansas, Nathan Davis was an acclaimed jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator. While known as a tenor saxophonist, he also played the soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. While he had a successful solo career, he’s also known for his work with Eric Dolphy, Ray Charles, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, and Slide Hampton. He grew up studying the saxophone and made his professional debut at the age of 16 when he performed with Jay McShann’s orchestra while also studying musicology at the University of Kansas. He relocated to Chicago, Illinois before joining the military and transferring to Germany. After World War II, he toured throughout Europe before finally settling in Paris, France in 1962. While there, he performed in jazz clubs with musicians such as Kenny Clarke, Donald Byrd, and Eric Dolphy. He released Happy Girl, his first album as a leader, in 1965 and quickly followed that with Peace Treaty (1965), The Hip Walk featuring Carmell Jones, Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Woode and Francy Boland (1966), and The Rules of Freedom (1969). In 1969, he became professor of music and director of jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh, a position he held until 2013. When he came to the university, he created a jazz department and also recorded The Rules of Freedom (1969) with is quartet that featured Hampton Hawes, Jimmy Garrison, and Art Taylor. After releasing the albums Makatuka (1971) and 6th Sense in the 11th House (1972), he became interested in playing the bass clarinet and embraced a jazz funk direction on the albums If (1976) and Suite for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1977). Returning to Paris, Nathan Davis founded the Paris Reunion Band in 1985, an ever-evolving ensemble that featured Johnny Griffin, Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Slide Hampton, Joe Henderson, Kenny Drew, Nat Adderley, Grachan Moncur III, and Idris Muhammad. Between 1985 and 1990, the group released several albums including French Cooking (1985), Hot Licks (1988), and We Remember Klook (Live at the Moonwalker) (1990). He continued his solo career at this time, issuing albums such as Faces of Love (1983), Such Pretty People with trombonist Erling Kröner (1984) and Just Above My Head (1986), which was an opera based on the works of writer and poet James Baldwin. After the release of his 1987 album London by Night, he formed the group Roots, which also featured Arthur Blythe, Sam Rivers, Chico Freeman, Benny Golson and Don Pullen, and others. Nathan Davis’ final studio album, I Am a Fool to Want You (2008) featured Grover Washington Jr., Ted Dunbar, and George Cables. Nathan Davis died on April 8, 2018, at the age of 81.

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