Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

DAVIS, Art

(b 5 December 1934, Harrisburg PA; d 29 July 2007, Long Beach CA) Bassist, composer, author, leader, professor of clinical psychology. Studied at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music; toured with Max Roach '58-9, Dizzy Gillespie '59-61, became a trailblazer in NYC studio work and one of the most in-demand bassists of the era, playing on over 60 albums with Roach, Dizzy, John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Roland Kirk and many more, plus singers including Ernestine Anderson, Abbey Lincoln, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie; worked with Judy Garland, Lena Horne etc. Turned down Coltrane's call for the Village Vanguard sessions '61 because it was important to keep up the studio work for a number of reasons, then became persona non grata by filing a racial discrimination suit against the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

He went back to college and obtained several degrees. He moved to the West Coast c. 1986 after he had to turn down a European tour with David Murray because the NYC hospital where he practiced clinical psychology would not grant him leave for six weeks. He wrote an unpublished book about Coltrane, was a first-call substitute bassist for the L.A. Philharmonic, has established BASS (Better Advantages for Students and Society) and the social-service-oriented Dr Art Davis Fan Club, providing scholarships for music students; he gives free concerts in the homes of donors and for schoolchildren and for the homeless. When he lost his wife of 31 years to cancer he founded the Gladys Davis Scholarship for students in the health care professions. His only albums as leader have been Re-emergence '80 on Interplay, a trio with Hilton Ruiz and drummer Greg Bandy; Life '85 on Soul Note, and A Time Remembered '96 on Classic, with Ravi Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Marvin 'Smitty' Smith. He led a quartet that played at the LA County Museum of Art, with Phil Vieux on reeds, pianist Horace Tapscott (d 28 February 1999 aged 64), Kharon Harrison on drums.