RIP Richard Davis (1930 – 2023)
Sad news as bassist Richard Davis passed away on September 6th – closing the book on a career in music that began when he appeared on an album by Don Shirley in 1955.
I was first introduced to his work on an absolutely stellar and quite underrated album called Dealin’ (1973) in which he teamed up with Freddie Waits on drums and David Spinoza on guitar (among others). The opening track, What’d You Say, is still on my regular rotation list. I mean, come on – listen to this:
But he also had a number of other very notable collaborations – Pharoah Sanders, Archie Schepp, Johnny Hartman, Andrew Hill, David Murray are just a few, and I do mean just a few, of the jazz musicians he worked with in his over 600 album credits. He also had a foot in the pop world, appearing on notable albums by Van Morrison (Astral Works), Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run), and Bonnie Raitt (Streetlights).
I recommend reading this obituary by WRTI-FM contributor Martin Johnson that nicely outlines the long career of this outstanding bassist. Davis’ contributions to music, especially but not exclusively to jazz, are immeasurable.
RIP to a legend…
