Art Davis

Art Davis
Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach.
Biography
Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, where he began studying the piano at the age of five, switched to tuba, and finally to bass while attending high school. He studied at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music but graduated from Hunter College.
As a New York session musician, he recorded with many jazz and pop musicians and also in symphony orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, and John Coltrane among other jazz musicians. Art Davis was a professor at Orange Coast College.
Davis is also known for starting a legal case that led to blind auditions for orchestras.
Davis earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from New York University in 1982. He moved in 1986 to southern California, where he balanced his teaching and practicing of psychology with jazz performances.
Davis died on July 29, 2007, following a heart attack. He was survived by two sons and a daughter.
Discography
As leader
Reemergence (Interplay, 1980) - with Hilton Ruiz, Greg Bandy
Life (Soul Note, 1985) - with John Hicks, Idris Muhammad, Pharoah Sanders
A Time Remembered (Jazz Planet, 1995) - with Ravi Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Smith
As sideman
With Joe Albany
Bird Lives! (Interplay, 1979)
With Gene Ammons
Up Tight! (Prestige, 1961)
Boss Soul! (Prestige, 1961)
With Count Basie
Back with Basie (Roulette, 1962)
With Art Blakey
A Jazz Message (Impulse!, 1963)
With John Coltrane
Africa/Brass (Impulse!, 1961)
Olé Coltrane (Impulse!, 1961)
Ascension (Impulse!, 1965)
The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (Impulse!, 1965)
Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!, 2023) recorded in 1961
With Buddy Emmons
Steel Guitar Jazz (Mercury, 1964)
With Curtis Fuller
Cabin in the Sky (Impulse!, 1962)
With Dizzy Gillespie
Gillespiana (Verve, 1960)
Carnegie Hall Concert (Verve, 1961)
With Bunky Green
Healing the Pain (Delos, 1990)
With Al Grey
The Al Grey - Billy Mitchell Sextet (Argo, 1961) with Billy Mitchell
With Eddie Harris
Bossa Nova (Vee-Jay, 1962)
With Freddie Hubbard
The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard (Impulse!, 1960)
Ready for Freddie (Blue Note, 1961)
With Hasaan Ibn Ali
Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album (Omnivore, 1965; released 2021)
With Elvin Jones
Elvin! (Riverside, 1961–62)
And Then Again (Atlantic, 1965)
With Etta Jones
Lonely and Blue (Prestige, 1962)
With Quincy Jones
Golden Boy (Mercury, 1964)
With Clifford Jordan
A Story Tale (Jazzland, 1961) with Sonny Red
With Roland Kirk
We Free Kings (1961)
With Abbey Lincoln
Straight Ahead (Candid, 1961)
With Booker Little
Out Front (Candid, 1961)
With Roberto Magris
Kansas City Outbound (JMood, 2008)
With Lee Morgan
Expoobident (1960)
With Tisziji Munoz
Visiting This Planet (Anami Music, 1980's)
Hearing Voices (Anami Music, 1980's)
With Joe Newman
Joe Newman Quintet at Count Basie's (Mercury, 1961)
With Dizzy Reece
Manhattan Project (1978)
With Max Roach
Max Roach + 4 at Newport (EmArcy, 1958)
Deeds, Not Words (Riverside, 1958)
Award-Winning Drummer (Time, 1958)
The Many Sides of Max (Mercury, 1959)
Percussion Bitter Sweet (Impulse!, 1961)
It's Time (Impulse!, 1962)
The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan (Atlantic, 1964)
With Hilton Ruiz
The People's Music – Live at Jazz Unité, vol 1 (1981)
Green Street – Live at Jazz Unité, vol 2 (1981)
With Sal Salvador
Juicy Lucy (Bee Hive, 1978)
With Pharoah Sanders
Rejoice (Theresa, 1981)
With Lalo Schifrin
Lalo = Brilliance (Roulette, 1962)
With Shirley Scott
For Members Only (Impulse!, 1963)
With Jack Teagarden
Think Well of Me (Verve, 1962)
With Clark Terry
Clark Terry Plays the Jazz Version of All American (Moodsville, 1962)
With McCoy Tyner
Inception (1962)
With Leo Wright
Blues Shout (Atlantic, 1960)
References
External links
Art Davis Discography at Jazz Discography
1934 births
2007 deaths
American jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
American jazz composers
American male jazz composers
Hard bop double-bassists
Musicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Post-bop double-bassists
Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
20th-century double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century jazz composers
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American people