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Jazz Articles about Jesse Davis

42
Album Review

Jesse Davis: Live at Smalls Jazz Club

Read "Live at Smalls Jazz Club" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Alto saxophone master Sonny Stitt always chafed when he was called “little Bird," a reference to the greatest alto of them all, Charlie Parker. “I'm not a little Bird," he would say, “I'm me; Sonny Stitt." In similar fashion, Jesse Davis would probably shrug off any comparison to another of the instrument's esteemed patriarchs, the late Julian “Cannonball" Adderley. Even so, such a connection is hardly misplaced. To some ears, Davis is the nearest thing to Cannonball since...well, Cannonball himself. ...

21
Album Review

Charles Tolliver: Connect

Read "Connect" reviewed by Chris May


Put out more flags. Connect, the first release from trumpeter Charles Tolliver in over a decade, is a monster. From the Saturday-night goodtime opener “Blue Soul" through to the intense, Spanish tinged, serpentine closer “Suspicion," the album finds Tolliver still at the top of his game in a recording career which began in the mid 1960s. He fronts a US quintet which brings with it the grit and groove of a mid-1960s Blue Note hard-bop band while sounding totally 2020. ...

1
In Pictures

Jesse Davis Quartet at Tracce di Jazz Festival 2020

Read "Jesse Davis Quartet at Tracce di Jazz Festival 2020" reviewed by Danilo Codazzi


112
Album Review

Jesse Davis: The Setup

Read "The Setup" reviewed by Russ Musto


This is the real thing: an authentic, unpretentious set of bebop, ballads and blues played with the profound feeling and burning intensity that many artists strive for but few achieve. Saxophonist Jesse Davis was a featured player in Robert Altman's Kansas City and on this date he seems to be on a mission to revitalize jazz with the energy and excitement of a “real" jazz club, as depicted in that film. The group, featuring Davis' frequent collaborator Peter Bernstein on ...

132
Album Review

Jesse Davis: The Setup

Read "The Setup" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Jesse Davis is a meat and potatoes alto saxophonist. He sounds like the living extension of that part of Julian Adderley and Sonny Stitt which was unaffected by Charlie Parker. He has a beautifully virile, muscular tone brimming with confidence. On The Setup, Davis chooses a guitar trio for his rhythm section, lead by plectrist Peter Bernstein perfectly balancing Davis’s brawn with grace and intelligence.

Davis’s choice of repertoire for this recital is tasteful and smart. From the standards bin, ...

166
Album Review

Jesse Davis: Second Nature

Read "Second Nature" reviewed by Jim Santella


In Robert Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City, Jesse Davis is a member of the band at a fictional Hey Hey Club where Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins battle it out for satisfaction. In the subsequent video and tour, he’s paired with fellow alto saxophonist David “Fathead" Newman, playing mostly post-bop passages and adding excitement to the jam, which still employs a 1934-ish jazz scene. Born in New Orleans and starting his professional career with Illinois Jacquet’s big band, the 34-year-old ...

115
Album Review

Jesse Davis: First Insight

Read "First Insight" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Jesse Davis, one of the country's finest post-Cannonball boppers, plays with splendid precision on First Insight, all of whose nine compositions he wrote - but I can remember his having played with more intensity on other occasions (High Standards, for example, or From Within). While there is warmth peeking through here from time to time, the session seldom catches fire. One problem lies with the rhythm section, especially Miller's forceful piano, which is too conspicuously front-and-center (Carter's bass, which is ...


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