Steve Davis

Inspired by the smokey cool bebop grooves of 1950s basement bars, Steve Davis has been a leading trombonist on the American jazz scene since making his name as part of the loose, swing ensemble One For All in the 1990s. Growing up in the city of Binghamton in upstate New York, his love of music was sparked by seeing his grandmother play the piano in local restaurants and he learned saxophone, trumpet and trombone in high school, before studying jazz at the University of Hartford under the tutelage of influential band leader Jackie McLean. Thriving amongst the vibrant, historical jazz venues in Connecticut and an abundance of talented, young musicians, he landed a spot with legendary drummer Art Blakey's band The Jazz Messengers and further learned his trade touring and recording with pianist Chick Corea's group Origin. His early albums as a leader were full of jaunty, upbeat swing numbers and released by Dutch label Criss Cross Jazz, before he joined One For All in 1997 after a successful session at the iconic Small's nightclub in Greenwich Village, New York. The group built up a reputation for sophisticated, vintage Blue Note swagger and have remained a popular fixture in the city for two decades, but Davis continued to pursue his solo career and honed his deep, melodic phrasing and rich, majestic sound on well-received albums 'Portrait in Sound' in 2000 and 'Update' in 2006, featuring Grammy-winning trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Although the influence of greats like Slide Hampton and JJ Johnson continue to resonate in his music, Davis is capable of fiery, high energy improvisations or more solemn, bluesy ambience and over the years has worked with high profile artists such as Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis and Benny Golson. More recently he has also performed with his cousin, avant-garde composer Jon Davis and released his 19th solo album 'Think Ahead' in 2017.

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