Richard+davis

This Impulse! session co-led by drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Richard Davis finds the pair joined by tenor saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Billy Green. The quartet performs an erratic but generally interesting set of music including "Shiny Stockings," Foster's funky "Raunchy Rita," and "Elvin's Guitar Blues"; the latter briefly features Jones making his first and only appearance on guitar.

Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison continued their homage to the Eric Dolphy/Booker Little duo with a second set of performances recorded at Sweet Basil. They featured "Fire Waltz" and "Bee Vamp," two more tunes the duo immortalized during their Five Spot performances. Their versions are well-intentioned, frequently exciting, and superbly played. But they are not transcendent for the simple reason that Harrison lacks Dolphy's fluency on either alto sax or bass clarinet, and Blanchard does not possess Little's command of the upper register or his embouchure. That is not a knock; they certainly clicked with the rhythm section of pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Ed Blackwell, who did play on the originals. Both of these volumes are highly recommended, but if you have not heard the originals, do whatever it takes to get them.

Elvin Jones & Richard Davis - Heavy Sounds (1967) {Impulse! 314 547 959-2 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 252 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
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© 1967, 1999 Impulse! / GRP Records / MCA Records / Universal Music | 314 547 959-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Drums / Bass

This Impulse! session co-led by drummer Elvin Jones and bassist Richard Davis finds the pair joined by tenor saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Billy Green. The quartet performs an erratic but generally interesting set of music including "Shiny Stockings," Foster's funky "Raunchy Rita," and "Elvin's Guitar Blues"; the latter briefly features Jones making his first and only appearance on guitar. The music is essentially advanced hard bop but is not all that essential.

Archie Shepp & Richard Davis - Body and Soul (1989) {Enja Records ‎ENJA CD 7007-2 rel 1991}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 205 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 130 Mb
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© 1989, 1991 Enja Records | ‎ENJA CD 7007-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Contemporary Jazz / Saxophone / Bass

This duet date from 1990 demonstrates the deep blues feeling and technical mastery Archie Shepp has on the tenor saxophone. Comprised of four standards – "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Body and Soul," "Pannonica," and "'Round Midnight" – this set is one of Shepp's most enjoyable ever. The reasons are myriad, but it is in large part due to the fluid, loping bass of Richard Davis. Recorded in a club in front of a live audience, Shepp digs deep into his own history of influential tenor players and comes out not wanting, but on par with them, from Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis to Sonny Rollins to John Coltrane. His playing here is big, meaty, and warm, full of subtle emotions as well as bleating cries.

Divine Gemini (1978) & Tenderness (1985).
Recorded at the same session that resulted in Divine Gemini, this set (Tenderness) of duets by vibraphonist Walt Dickerson and bassist Richard Davis features five Dickerson originals. Although the music is often complex and a touch esoteric, the attractive sound of the intimate duo makes the performances much more accessible than they would normally be. Both Walt Dickerson (who had recently come back from a long absence from the jazz scene) and Richard Davis have long been underrated greats and their interplay throughout the program is of a consistently high quality.

Back in the late 1960s, Solid State put out four LPs in their series Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon. The five titles with Dizzy Gillespie have been more recently reissued on a two-CD Blue Note set titled Live at the Village Vanguard. Laserlight improves upon the packaging by including two additional titles (from Vol. 3) on their first two CDs; unfortunately, the two lengthy songs ("Satin Doll" and "Straight No Chaser") from a Harry "Sweets" Edison date that comprised Vol. 4 remain out of print. The first disc of this three-CD set has a very interesting, if sometimes erratic date matching Gillespie with violinist Ray Nance (sometimes replaced by trombonist Garnett Brown), baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Richard Davis, and either Mel Lewis or Elvin Jones on drums. Nance's violin playing is adventurous and eccentric, and there are some loose moments, but Dizzy holds the music together and Pepper Adams is in top form.