Richard Davis (bassist)

Richard Davis
Richard Davis at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, California, February 28, 1987, photo by Brian McMillen
Background information
Born	(1930-04-15)April 15, 1930 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, classical
Occupation(s)	Musician, teacher
Instruments	Bass
Years active	1940s–present
Labels	Muse, Palmetto
Associated acts	Eric Dolphy, Creative Construction Company, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
Website	www.richarddavis.org

Richard Davis (born April 15, 1930) is an American jazz bassist. Among his most famous contributions to the albums of others are Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch!, Andrew Hill's Point of Departure, and Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, of which critic Greil Marcus wrote (in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll), "Richard Davis provided the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album".

Originally from Chicago, Davis began his musical career as a singer with his brothers, singing bass in his family vocal trio. He began studying double bass in high school with his music theory and band director, Walter Dyett. He was a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (then known as the Youth Orchestra of Greater Chicago) and played in the orchestra's first performance at Chicago's Orchestra Hall on November 14, 1947. After high school, he studied double bass with Rudolf Fahsbender of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra while attending Vandercook College.

After college, Davis performed in dance bands. The connections he made led him to pianist Don Shirley. In 1954 he and Shirley moved to New York City and performed together until 1956, when Davis began playing with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. In 1957, he became part of Sarah Vaughan's rhythm section, touring and recording with her until 1960.

During the 1960s, Davis was in demand in a variety of musical circles. He worked with many of the cutting edge small jazz groups of the time, including those led by Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, Booker Ervin, Andrew Hill, Elvin Jones and Cal Tjader. From 1966–1972, he was a member of the The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (now known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). He has also played with Don Sebesky, Oliver Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, and Ahmad Jamal.