Walter Davis, Jr.
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Walter Davis, Jr. 1982 |
Walter Davis, Jr. (
1932–
1990) was an
American hard bop pianist.
Born in
Richmond, Virginia, Davis performed as a teenager with
Babs Gonzalez and his group
Three Bips and a Bop. In the
1950s, Davis recorded with
Max Roach and played with Roach,
Charlie Parker,
Dizzy Gillespie. In 1958 he played a highly successful, extended engagement in Paris with trumpeter
Donald Byrd at Le Chat Qui Peche and shortly after realized his dream of becoming pianist and composer-arranger for
Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers.
After retiring from music in the
1960s to work as a tailor, he returned in the
1970s to perform with
Sonny Rollins and again with the Jazz Messengers. He has recorded with many other prominent jazz musicians, including
Kenny Clarke,
Sonny Criss,
Jackie McLean,
Pierre Michelot, and
Archie Shepp. Davis was known as a prime interpretor of the music of
Bud Powell but also recorded an album capturing the compositional genius and piano style of
Thelonious Monk. Although few of Davis' recordings as a pianist remain in print, he is likely to be periodically rediscovered and long remembered for his strikingly original, adventurous and challenging compositions, several of which served as titles for noteworthy albums by
Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers. Combining traditional harmonies with modal patterns and featuring numerous rhythmic shifts along with internal melodic motifs within operatic, aria-like sweeping melodies, Davis's fresh and forward-looking compositions included "Scorpio Rising," "Backgammon," "Uranus," "Gypsy Folk Tales," "Jodi," and "Ronnie Is a Dynamite Lady."
Davis died in
New York on June 2, 1990 from complications of liver and kidney disease. He was 57.
* Night Song (1979)
* Blues Walk (1979)
* 400 Years Ago Tomorrow (1979)
* Live au Dreher (1981)
* In Walked Thelonious (1987)
* Illumination (1989)
* Scorpio Rising (1994)
* Davis Cup (1995)
* Davis had an occasional role as the piano player on the 1987-88 CBS television comedy
Frank's Place which starred
Tim Reid.
* Davis contributed to the soundtrack of the
Clint Eastwood film
"Bird".
* Is the father of pop-folk artist
Alana Davis.
The New York Times, June 4, 1990.
