[JPL] Art Davis, a Bassist Known for the Classics and Jazz, Dies at 73

[r durfee]

August 21, 2007
Art Davis, a Bassist Known for the Classics and Jazz,
Dies at 73 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 20 (AP) — Art Davis, a
bassist who played with John Coltrane and other jazz
greats, died on July 29 at his home here. He was 73.

The cause was a heart attack, said his son Kimaili
Davis. 

A versatile player, Mr. Davis played classical music
with the New York Philharmonic and was a member of the
CBS, NBC and Westinghouse orchestras and the pit bands
of Broadway shows.

Described by the jazz critic Nat Hentoff as the
saxophonist John Coltrane’s favorite bassist, Mr.
Davis performed on a number of Coltrane’s albums,
including “Ascension,” “Africa/Brass” and “Olé
Coltrane.”

He also played with Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie and
other leading jazz musicians, as well as with Judy
Garland, John Denver and Peter, Paul and Mary. 

Mr. Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1933 and
began studying piano there at age 5. In sixth grade he
took up the tuba because, he later said, it was the
only instrument available.

By 1951 he had decided to make music his career. He
chose the double bass and at 17 studied with the
principal bassist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He
later studied on scholarship at the Manhattan School
of Music and Juilliard by day while playing jazz in
New York clubs by night.

Mr. Davis pioneered a fingering technique for the bass
and wrote “The Arthur Davis System for Double Bass.”
He also taught music at the college level. 

He lost jobs in the 1970s after filing an unsuccessful
discrimination suit against the New York Philharmonic.
With less work coming his way, he returned to school
and in 1981 earned a doctorate in clinical psychology
from New York University. For many years he was both a
practicing psychologist and a working musician.

His wife, Gladys, died in 1995. 

In addition to his son Kimaili, of Oak Park, Calif.,
Mr. Davis is survived by another son, Mureithi Davis
of Tustin, Calif., and a daughter, Taisha Jack of
Culver City, Calif. 


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/arts/music/21davis.html?ref=music

Roy Durfee
P.O. Box 40219
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87196-0219
rdurfee2003 at yahoo.com


       
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