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Jazz Articles about Wild Bill Davison
Wild Bill Davison: The Danish Sessions
by Chris Mosey
Wild Bill Davison was aptly described by Humphrey Lyttelton as the kind of drunken reveller who throws his arms around your neck one moment and tries to knock you down the next. Aside from his drinking, Wild Bill was, more importantly, a white Dixieland cornet player of considerable ability, with a fierce, uninhibited attack, whose heroes were Louis Armstrong and Bobby Hackett. Author and jazz trumpeter Richard M. Sudhalter saw Davison for the first time at Eddie ...
read moreThe Commodore Master Takes
by Mark Barnett
Getting Started If you're new to jazz, go to our Getting Into Jazz primer for some hints on how to listen. CD Capsule Take a generous scoop of traditional New Orleans jazz, with its intricate three-horn counterpoint, add a hard-driving, hell-for-leather beat, shake well, and you've got Chicago-style jazz. No one made Chicago-style more exciting than cornetist Wild Bill Davison, and these recordings catch him and his cohorts at the top of their game. ...
read moreWild Bill Davison: The Jazz Giants
by Hrayr Attarian
Cornetist Wild Bill Davison had a fiery, extroverted approach to playing that originated in the 1920s Chicago and mirrored his hard living. By 1968, when he recorded The Jazz Giants for the Canadian label Sackville, he had mellowed and his tone had become more melodic. A democratic leader, Davison allows the five, underrated practitioners of prebop jazz," who join him on the date, plenty of room in the spotlight. The result is a collaborative effort that comprises delightful interpretation of ...
read moreWild Bill Davison: Wild Bill Davison: Pretty Wild & With Strings Attached
by Mike Neely
Wild Bill Davison did not always front a go-for-broke Dixieland band playing his cornet above a high-octane rhythm section. Arbors Records has reissued two albums featuring Davison with strings. Pretty Wild and With Strings Attached, originally recorded in 1956 and 1957, reveal a lyrical, reflective Davison playing ballads and slow to medium tempo standards. This other side of Wild Bill Davison, a very attractive one, adds dimension to his reputation.On Pretty Wild Davison plays with a jazz quartet ...
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