Richard Davis is one of the most recorded bassists in all of music. It could easily take several years to listen through all 344 records he has been a part of. This week Madison Jazz is featuring a recording that was discussed at last week’s Richard Davis Bass Foundation Conference.
First let me digress for a moment and talk about the conference. I went to the Faculty Concert on Friday night and sat way up in front. That’s the first time I sat that close and it made a huge difference. Anyone who has attended concerts at Mills Auditorium knows how awful the acoustics can be, but where I was the sound was very good.
You might imagine a concert of only bassists to be quite limited, but that was not the case. Each bass had it’s own unique tone, and there were many configurations: solos with and without piano accompaniment, duets, trios, and full bass orchestras. The performances also covered the full emotional spectrum. The show opened with a mournful, moving interpretation of “Bottesini Elegy,” performed by Andy Raciti and dedicated to a bassist colleague who died last year. At the other extreme was David Murray’s ”First Audition,” a humorous narrative in which he used his bass and props to recall early experiences playing the bass. Donovan Stokes gave an eye-popping display of technical wizardry and showmanship, distorting the sound of his upright bass with electronic pedals, and playing it behind the back and on it’s side like a guitar. The highlight of the evening was a beautiful unaccompanied version of Cole Porter’s, “I Love You,” by Rufus Reid that received a standing ovation.
Mr.Reid’s performance was followed by a duet with Richard Davis on the standard, “Summertime.” Mr. Reid explained their performance was intended as a sort of recreation of a recording he greatly admired by Elvin Jones and Richard Davis on the 1968 record, Heavy Sounds. Richard added that he and Elvin were set to record a trio verison but the guitarist didn’t show so they recorded as a duet.
After hearing the Rufus Reid and Richard Davis performance of Summertime on Friday night I was compelled to track down the original. With playing like this one can see how Davis garnered the Downbeat International Critics Poll award for best bassist from 1967 – 1974. Here it is:
