All Topics  
Wild Bill Davis

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Wild Bill Davis
 
 
  Topics Wild Bill Davis Topic Home

Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918–August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 pianist
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, organist
Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ . An organist may play organ repertoire, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist....
, and arranger William Strethen Davis.

Davis was born in Glasgow, Missouri
Glasgow, Missouri

Glasgow is a city in Chariton County, Missouri and Howard County, Missouri counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,263 at the 2000 census....
. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electronic organ
Electronic organ

An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument originally designed to imitate the sound of a pipe organ. It has developed today into two forms of the instrument, the digital church organ that imitates a pipe organ for classical music and use in churches, and the Hammond organ-style instrument used in more popular music genres....
 recordings and for his seminal four-year tenure with the Tympany Five
Tympany Five

Tympany Five was a successful rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double-bass, guitar and piano....
, the legendary backing group for Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan was a pioneering United States jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s....
. Prior to the emergence of Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)

Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument. In 2005, Jimmy Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians....
 in 1956, Davis (whom Smith had reportedly first seen playing organ in the 1930s) was the pacesetters among organists.

He originally played guitar and wrote arrangements for Milt Larkin
Milt Larkin

Milt Larkin was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Larkin was an autodidact on the trumpet, and got his start playing in Texas in the 1930s with Chester Boone and Giles Mitchell....
's legendary band during 1939–1942.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Wild Bill Davis'
Start a new discussion about 'Wild Bill Davis'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918–August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 pianist
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, organist
Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ . An organist may play organ repertoire, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist....
, and arranger William Strethen Davis.

Davis was born in Glasgow, Missouri
Glasgow, Missouri

Glasgow is a city in Chariton County, Missouri and Howard County, Missouri counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,263 at the 2000 census....
. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electronic organ
Electronic organ

An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument originally designed to imitate the sound of a pipe organ. It has developed today into two forms of the instrument, the digital church organ that imitates a pipe organ for classical music and use in churches, and the Hammond organ-style instrument used in more popular music genres....
 recordings and for his seminal four-year tenure with the Tympany Five
Tympany Five

Tympany Five was a successful rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938. The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double-bass, guitar and piano....
, the legendary backing group for Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan was a pioneering United States jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s....
. Prior to the emergence of Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)

Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument. In 2005, Jimmy Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians....
 in 1956, Davis (whom Smith had reportedly first seen playing organ in the 1930s) was the pacesetters among organists.

He originally played guitar and wrote arrangements for Milt Larkin
Milt Larkin

Milt Larkin was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Larkin was an autodidact on the trumpet, and got his start playing in Texas in the 1930s with Chester Boone and Giles Mitchell....
's legendary band during 1939–1942. Davis played a crucial role as the pianist-arranger in Louis Jordan's Tympany Five (1945–1949) at the peak of their success in the period 1945–1949, before switching to organ in 1950 and heading his own influential organ/guitar/drums trios.

Davis was originally supposed to record "April in Paris" with Count Basie
Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an United States Jazz piano, organist, bandleader, and composer. Widely regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleaders of his time, Basie led his popular Count Basie Orchestra for almost 50 years....
's Orchestra in 1955 but when he could not make the session, Basie used his arrangement for the full band and had a major hit.

In addition to working with his own groups in the 1960s, Davis made several albums with his friend Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophone and lead player of Duke Ellington's saxophone section. He spent 38 years with Ellington, leaving to lead his own band from 1951 to 1955, returning to the fold shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence via the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz F...
, leading to tours during 1969–1971 with Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader.Duke Ellington was recognized during his life as one of the most influential Jazz royalty, if not in all American music and he is of only four jazz musicians ever to have been featured on the cover of Time magazine ....
. In the 1970s he recorded for the Black & Blue records
Black & Blue Records

Black & Blue Records is a France record label specializing in swing jazz and blues.Black & Blue was founded in 1968, and in its early years concentrated on reissuing jazz that had been previously released on American labels....
 label with a variety of swing all-stars, and he also played with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players....
, appearing at festivals through the early 1990s.

Selected discography

  • 1959 - In The Groove! (Fresh Sound, 1959-60) with George Clarke
    George Clarke

    George Clarke , the son of William Clarke , enrolled at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1676. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1680....
    , Bill Jennings
    Bill Jennings

    Bill Jennings was a professional ice hockey player who played 108 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. He was born in Toronto, Ontario....
    , Grady Tate
    Grady Tate

    Grady Tate, , is a hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer.He has played with Lena Horne, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tom Rapp, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Stanley Turrentine, Charles Earland, Quincy Jones,...
  • 1959 - In The Mellow Tone (same)
  • 1986 - Live at Swiss Radio Studio Zürich (Jazz Connaisseur) with Clifford Scott, Dickie Thompson, Clyde Lucas
    Clyde Lucas

    Clyde Lucas is a United States composer and filmmaker. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri.Lucas has composed music for shows such as Thank Ya, Thank Ya Kindly and Horse Tales....
  • 1987 - 70th/30th Anniversary Live Concert LP together with Austrian Jazz organist T.C. Pfeiler http://www.tcpfeiler.com


External links