Home » Jazz Musicians » James Davis
James Davis
In 2004 James moved to Chicago, and has continued his musical growth as an active performer, composer and educator in the Chicago area. In addition to leading his own quintet and co-leading Zing!, James also performs regularly with the Tomorrow Music Orchestra, the Stone-Bratt Big Band, the Jason Steele Ensemble, and the Ian Torrez Big Band. He is currently on faculty at Triton College in River Grove, IL, and on staff at local high schools in the Chicago-land area as a private instructor. In 2005 James was a touring member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, in which he was frequently featured as a soloist. James’ diverse performance experience includes performances with the Chuchito Valdes Latin Jazz Quintet, Rob Parton’s Jazztech Big Band, Alan Gresik’s Swing Shift Orchestra, the Naperville Chorus, the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Wind Symphony, and other jazz, classical and Latin music groups.
Tags
Matt Ulery: Mannerist
by Mike Jurkovic
There is a lilting magic to the music of Mannerist that is hard to deny or find fault with. The Bridge" starts and the whole day changes, eliciting, perhaps, a feeling of being lighter on the feet, lighter in spirit and, most importantly, lighter in the head. Suddenly all the information they want you to swallow goes away and its just you and the music. It is a beautiful thing. It is something bassist/composer/bandleader Matt Ulery sets out to do ...
read moreMichael Hudson-Casanova: Animus
by Hrayr Attarian
On his second release as a leader, the captivating Animus, saxophonist Michael Hudson-Casanova leads his trio on a cohesive set of eight of his originals. The contemplative, moving music is complex and nuanced, inventive and accessible. Hudson-Casanova, who has already demonstrated his superb compositional skills on his debut, goes further on the current album, creating a unique blend of a haunting ambience and provocative substance. Guitarist Erik Skov begins the title track with reverberating vamps which bounce off ...
read moreMatt Ulery's Delicate Charms: Live at the Green Mill
by Troy Dostert
One of the central figures of Chicago's thriving jazz scene, bassist Matt Ulery has cultivated fruitful relationships with a core of compatriots who embody the grit and beauty of the music coming out of the Windy City. He maintains a host of projects, one of the foremost being Delicate Charms, a group that released its self-titled debut in 2019 on Woolgathering Records; alto saxophonist Greg Ward, pianist Rob Clearfield, drummer Quin Kirchner and violinist Zach Brock assist Ulery in creating ...
read moreMatt Ulery: Pollinator
by Mike Jurkovic
What a wonderful lift to an otherwise dismal year is Pollinator, Chicago based bassist Matt Ulery's unabashed revelry in swing jazz circa King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton. Add a few pops, skips and other random surface noises to the sound of these eight unbridled, hothouse Ulery compositions and you'd swear you were sitting in and listening to the real thing. Because Pollinator sure sounds like your grandad's 78s. Those mysteriously heavy, black platters that set you on this beautiful ...
read moreWaxahachie's James Davis Releases New CD
Source:
All About Jazz
Considering the music environment that nourished his childhood, it's no surprise James Davis made a career in music. He recently released his first CD, Angles of Refraction," as part of the James Davis Quintet, a group of jazz musicians. The 1997 Waxahachie High School graduate participated in band from sixth through 12th grade and is one of many family musicians. His mother, Theresa Davis, is a piano teacher and the pianist and organist at St. Joseph Catholic Church, where she ...
read more
Debut CD by the James Davis Quintet - "Angles of Refraction" - Now Available
Source:
All About Jazz
Angles of Refraction, the debut album of the James Davis Quintet, is now available on ears&eyes Records. This album features nine original compositions by James Davis, who has also composed for the collaborative group Zing!, and the adventurous Tomorrow Music Orchestra. The quintet is grounded in the language of Jazz from the last 30 or so years, and incorporates sounds bordering on pop/rock and even drum 'n bass rhythms. Throughout these stylistic tangents, however, a common thread of patience and ...
read more
Photos
Music
Kind Folk
From: Altus: Animus LiveBy James Davis
What If Everything Is Not Enough
From: AnimusBy James Davis