Jazz bassist Richard Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 15, 1930. While he had an acclaimed career as a band leader and co-leader, he’s best known for his work as a sideman with artists as varied as Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Eric Dolphy, Van Morrison, The Rascals, and Bruce Springsteen. Richard Davis began his musical journey as a vocalist, singing bass in his family’s vocal trio. He studied music at DuSable High School and focused on the double bass. He performed with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra at their first live show in 1947 at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall before attending VanderCook College and continuing his double bass studies. After graduating in 1952, he began playing in dance bands before working with pianist Don Shirley. Richard Davis spent the remainder of the 1950s accompanying jazz artists such as Ahmad Jamal, Benny Goodman, Eddie King, Don Shirley, Kenny Burrell, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Ventura and others. During the first half of the 1960s, he became a popular session musician and played on recordings by Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, Jaki Byard, Roland Kirk, Andrew Hill, Cal Tjader, and more. He began working with artists such as Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, and Frank Sinatra as well as stepping outside of jazz and recording with diverse acts such as Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Barbra Streisand, Buffalo Springfield, The Rascals, and Van Morrison. In 1970, he released Muses for Richard Davis, his debut album as a leader. That album was followed by releases such as The Philosophy of the Spiritual (1972), Epistrophy & Now’s the Time (1972), Dealin’ (1974), As One (1976), Fancy Free (1977), and Harvest (1979). During this time, he was also appearing on sessions by artists such as Bo Diddley, Laura Nyro, Charles Mingus, Carly Simon, Sonny Stitt, Melanie, Paul Simon, Jonathan Edwards, Janis Ian, Melissa Manchester, Bonnie Raitt, and many others. Although recorded in 1977, his Way Out West album – recorded with Billy Cobham, Eddie Henderson, Stanley Cowell, and Joe Henderson – wasn’t released until 1980. Richard Davis remained busy in the 1980s and 1990s as a session musician as well as issuing albums such as Persia My Dear (1987), I Remember Clifford (1992), Naima (1995), and Total Package (1997). In 1993, he created the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists in order to provide support and attention to young talent. In his later years, his solo productivity slowed down and his final albums included The Bassist: Homage to Diversity with John Hicks (2001), Madison with Tine Asmundsen (2008) and Blue Monk with Junior Mance (2008). In 2014, he was honored with an NEA Jazz Master award. After two years in hospice care, Richard Davis died on September 6, 2023, at the age of 93.
