Nathan Tate Davis (February 15, 1937 – April 8, 2018) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

who played the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. He is known for his work with Eric Dolphy,

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Slide Hampton and Art Blakey.

Career

Davis traveled extensively around Europe after World War II and moved to Paris in 1962. He held a Ph.D in Ethnomusicology from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

and was a professor of music and director of jazz studies at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

from 1969, an academic program that he helped initiate. He was also founder and director of the University of Pittsburgh Annual Jazz Seminar and Concert, the first academic jazz event of its kind in the United States. He also helped to found the university's William Robinson Recording Studio as well as establish the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame located in the school's

William Pitt Union The William Pitt Union, built in 1898 as the Hotel Schenley, is the student union building of the University of Pittsburgh main campus, and is a Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. Designed by Pittsburg ...

and the University of Pittsburgh-Sonny Rollins International Jazz Archives. Davis retired as director of the Jazz Studies Program at Pitt in 2013. Davis also served as the editor of the ''International Jazz Archives Journal''. One of Davis' best known musical associations was heading the Paris Reunion Band (1985–1989), which at different times included

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

, Kenny Drew,

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

, Slide Hampton, Joe Henderson, Idris Muhammad, Dizzy Reece, Woody Shaw, and

Jimmy Woode James Bryant Woode (September 23, 1926 – April 23, 2005) was an American jazz bassist. He played and/or recorded in bands with Flip Phillips, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Nat Pierce, Sidney ...

. Davis also toured and recorded with the post-bop ensemble leading Roots which he formed in 1991. Davis composed various pieces, including a 2004 opera entitled ''Just Above My Head''. Davis died of natural causes in Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 81.

Awards and honors

On October 5, 2013, Davis was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation's BNY Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Discography

As leader

*1965: ''The Hip Walk'' (with

Carmell Jones Carmell Jones (July 19, 1936 – November 7, 1996) was an American jazz trumpet player. Biography Jones was born in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. He started piano lessons at age five, and trumpet lessons at age seven. His first professional ...

, Francy Boland,

) *1965: ''Peace Treaty'' (with Woody Shaw, Jean-Louis Chautemps, René Urtreger, Jimmy Woode, Kenny Clarke) *1965: ''Happy Girl'' (with Woody Shaw, Larry Young,

, Billy Lewis Brooks) *1967: ''The Rules of Freedom'' (with Hampton Hawes, Jimmy Garrison, Art Taylor) *1969: ''Jazz Concert in a Benedictine Monastery'' *1971: ''Makatuka'' (with Nelson Harrison, Joe Kennedy, Don Depaotis, Mike Taylor, Virgil Walters, Wheeler Winstead) *1972: ''6th Sense in the 11th House'' (with

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

, Richard Davis,

Alan Dawson Alan Dawson (July 14, 1929 – February 23, 1996) was an American jazz drummer and percussion teacher based in Boston. Biography Dawson was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Serving in the U.S. Army during th ...

) *1976: ''Suite for Dr. Martin Luther King'' *1976: ''If'' (with

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

, George Caldwell, Dave Palmar, Willie Amoaku) *1982: ''Faces of Love'' *1987: ''London by Night'' *1996: ''Nathan Davis'' *1998: ''Two Originals: Happy Girl & Hip Walk'' *1999: ''I'm a Fool to Want You'' *2003: ''Rules of Freedom'' *2006: ''Happy Girl'' *2009: ''The Best of 1965–76'' *2019: ''Live in Paris (The ORTF Recordings 1966–67)'' (with

Georges Arvanitas Georges Arvanitas (June 13, 1931 – September 25, 2005) was a French jazz pianist and organist. Life and career He was born in Marseille, a child of Greek immigrants from Constantinople. At the age of four he began studying piano and initially ...

Trio)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Nathan 1937 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz clarinetists American jazz flautists Hard bop musicians Wesleyan University alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty Musicians from Kansas Musicians from Pittsburgh Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male jazz musicians 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century flautists