[Fmpro] Double bassist Art Davis dies at 73

[Fernando Rivas]

Thanks Pete. That's a piece of music history. Art Davis crossed many
boundaries, including socio-economic ones.

FR


On 8/4/07 1:22 PM, "Pete" <musical411 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Thought the list might be interested...
> 
> P e t e
> S u r d o v a l
> 
> Double bassist Art Davis dies at 73
> 
> LONG BEACH, Calif. - Art Davis, the renowned double
> bassist who played with John Coltrane and other jazz
> greats, has died. He was 73.
>  
> Davis died of a heart attack Sunday at his home in
> Long Beach, his son Kimaili Davis told the Los Angeles
> Times for a story in Saturday's editions.
> 
> Davis was blacklisted in the 1970s for speaking up
> about racism in the music industry, then later earned
> a doctorate in clinical psychology and balanced
> performance dates with appointments to see patients.
> 
> "He was adventurous with his approach to playing
> music," said pianist Nate Morgan, who played with the
> elder Davis intermittently over the last 10 years. "It
> takes a certain amount of integrity to step outside
> the box and say, 'I like it here and I'm going to hang
> here for a while.'"
> 
> Known for his stunning and complete mastery of the
> instrument, Davis was able to jump between genres. He
> played classical music with the New York Philharmonic,
> was a member of the NBC, Westinghouse and CBS
> orchestras, and played for Broadway shows.
> 
> The most enriching experience of his career was
> collaborating with John Coltrane. Described by jazz
> critic Nat Hentoff as Coltrane's favorite bassist,
> Davis performed on the saxophonist's albums including
> "Ascension," Volumes 1 and 2 of "The Africa/Brass
> Sessions" and "Ole Coltrane."
> 
> The two musicians met one night in the late 1950s at
> Small's Paradise, a jazz club in Harlem.
> 
> Davis viewed his instrument as "the backbone of the
> band," one that should "inspire the group by proposing
> harmonic information with a certain sound quality and
> rhythmic impulses," Davis said in an excerpt from So
> What magazine posted on his Web site.
> 
> By following his own advice, Davis' career flourished.
> He played with a long and varied list of artists:
> Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
> Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, John Denver, the trio
> Peter, Paul and Mary and Bob Dylan.
> 
> Davis began studying piano at age 5 in Harrisburg,
> Pa., where he was born in 1933. By sixth grade Davis
> studied the tuba in school because it was the only
> instrument available, he said.
> 
> By 1951 he decided to make music his career. He chose
> the double bass, believing it would allow more
> opportunities to make a living. At age 17 he studied
> with the principal double bassist at the Philadelphia
> Orchestra. But when he auditioned for his hometown's
> symphony, the audition committee was so unduly harsh
> and demanding that the conductor Edwin MacArthur
> questioned their objectivity.
> 
> "The answer was, 'Well, he's colored,' and there was
> silence," Davis recalled in a 2002 article in Double
> Bassist magazine. "Finally MacArthur burst out, 'If
> you don't want him, then you don't want me.' So they
> quickly got together and accepted me."
> 
> After high school, Davis studied classical music on
> scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music and the
> Juilliard School of Music. At night he played jazz in
> New York clubs.
> 
> In the 1970s, his fortunes waned after he filed an
> unsuccessful discrimination lawsuit against the New
> York Philharmonic. Like other black musicians who
> challenged job hiring practices, he lost work and
> industry connections.
> 
> With less work coming his way, Davis returned to
> school and in 1981 earned a doctorate in clinical
> psychology from New York University. For many years he
> was a practicing psychologist while also working as a
> musician.
> 
> As a result of his lawsuit and protest, Davis played a
> key role in the increased use of the so-called blind
> audition, in which musicians are heard but not seen by
> those evaluating them, Hentoff said.
> 
> The accomplished musician also pioneered a fingering
> technique for the bass and wrote "The Arthur Davis
> System for Double Bass."
> 
> Davis also wore the hat of university professor. He
> taught at UC Irvine for two years. Most recently Davis
> was a part-time music instructor at Orange Coast
> College in Costa Mesa.
> 
> Besides his son Kimaili, Davis is survived by another
> son and a daughter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>        
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