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Past Events Lee Hudson, Bass Jimmy Wormworth, Drums Born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Charles Davis graduated from the famous DuSable High School, studied at the Chicago School of Music and was a private student of John Hauser. In the 1950s he played in the bands of Billie Holiday and Ben Webster, Sun Ra and Dinah Washington, and performed and recorded with Kenny Dorham, with whom he had a musical association that lasted many years. In the tumultuous ’60s Davis performed and recorded with Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, Illinois Jacquet, Freddie Hubbard, Johnny Griffin, Steve Lacy, Ahmad Jamal and worked with Blue Mitchell, Erskine Hawkins, John Coltrane, Clifford Jordan, among others. In 1964 he won Downbeat Magazine’s International Jazz Critics Poll for the baritone saxophone. In the ’70s, he was member of the cooperative group “Artistry in Music” with Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins; was the co-leader and composer/arranger for the Baritone Saxophone Retinue, a group featuring six baritone saxophones; made European tours of major jazz festivals and concerts with the Clark Terry Orchestra; and toured the USA with Duke Ellington’s Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington. He performed and recorded with the Philly Joe Jones Quartet, “Dameronia” and with Abdullah Ibrahim’s “Ekaya” in the United States, Europe and Africa in the ’80s, when he also toured Europe with the “Savoy Seven Plus 1: A Salute to Benny Goodman.” With his own quartet, performed in Rome, at the Bologna Jazz Festival, Jazz in Sardinia Festival, and the La Spezia Festival. In 1984 he was named a “BMI Jazz Pioneer.” Among his many musical activities in the ’90s, Davis was the tenor saxophonist and a major contributor of musical arrangements with Larry Ridley’s “Jazz Legacy Ensemble” which appeared at the Senegal Jazz Festival, performed concerts and conducted clinics, seminars and master classes. In addition, with Ronnie Cuber and Gary Smulyan he performed in the Three Baritone Saxophone Band, which toured Italy, appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, and other venues around the world. In August 2001, he performed for President Bill Clinton at the “Harlem Welcomes Clinton” celebration. The Barry Harris/Charles Davis Quintet appeared several times at “Sweet Basil” in New York City, and in August 2004, they performed in the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival. Charles is a saxophone instructor of private students from The New School, a teacher at the Lucy Moses School and for over 25 years has been an instructor at the Jazzmobile Workshops. He has made five of his own albums and is featured on over 100 recordings. Recent CDs include Blue Gardenia, with Cedar Walton on piano, Peter Washington on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums, released in 2003 on Reade Street Records. His latest, Land of Dreams, was released in 2007. |
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