Roll Call: Jazz Heroes of the Upright Bass

Also this story that my bandmate posted on Richard's 93rd birthday: https://www.facebook.com/mamadigdown/posts/pfbid02B1LeGdA1FsHpXF29xJU72zbJ2kh6qPTuYLP9VoaVUjRHwFcsVGNWvAXLBaTZ8Ryfl

Thanks for sharing these Jordan. I knew he'd taught a young William Parker for a period, so it's fascinating to learn more about this approach. And thanks for the recommendations. Somehow Heavy Sounds had passed me by, but what a great album.

I think his private bass lessons were a bit different, but also could be pretty intense. From friends who studied with him I think he focused on technique and bowing a lot (he was Stravinsky's favorite bassist, after all), and he used & taught a less common bow grip -- German, where your hand is cradling the bow from underneath, rather then French which is more of a violin-type grip.

Thanks so much, Jordan! I've always been captivated by what he and Randy Brecker and Roy Bittan (that's all the players) brought into Springsteen's "Meeting Across The River," a magical one-off.

A friend just sent links to several albums mentioned here, and also
Thee first Jayne Cortez LP, just Jayne x Richard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOKItq4IN4s

Another full album, Divine Gemini, by Richard Davis and Walt Dickerson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOKItq4IN4s

Damn, sorry! here tis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRjnLjokjnI

Joe Mondragon, who played on Peggy Lee’s “Fever,” as well as on two of my favorite albums, The Astrud Gilberto Album (1965) and Lee Konitz Plays with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, as well as many other credits.

Did we ever have some kind of Jazz in NYC around town listings type thread? I think I may start one.

Forks did a NYC gigs thread , I don’t remember how much jazz it had. Morbs did one earlier also. Again don’t recall how much jazz it had

upcoming nyc shows. best of the best

A dj/bass player/jazz writer I respect a lot has insisted to me for years that Richard Davis is the greatest bass player of all time. Like this dude has possibly the best jazz record collection of anyone I've ever met under 50 and he will insist that to his grave. Not that I've ever argued with him about it. Davis's discography is just deep and vast and astounding - he's like musical Zelig. I've come to think of him as someone who has a huge "plus factor" in the sports analogy sense - he just makes every record he's on better. And on records where he's given freedom, he just has this massive sound and unique sense of time and harmonic play. I think he would have worked really well in the mid to late Coltrane stuff. He's on Out to Lunch, all those great Andrew Hill and Booker Ervin and Jaki Byard and Sonny Simmons records, but then he shows up on, like Greetings from Asbury Park and Born to Run and Astral Weeks and There Goes Rhymin' Simon, and he was also a monstrous classical bassist.

Jordan that sounds like a great experience, I would have loved that.

Recently learned that Davis was one of the bassists on Frank Sinatra's hipster fave Watertown.

A few more memories of Richard here: https://tonemadison.com/articles/madison-and-the-music-world-mourn-richard-davis-towering-bassist-and-professor/

Thanks! Hadn’t known about the Charles Hughes connection before.