American jazz saxophonist (1922–1986)
Musical artist
Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986),
[1] known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , was an American
jazz tenor saxophonist.
[2]
It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened to "Jaws"): it is either said that it came from the title of a tune or from his way of biting hard on the saxophone mouthpiece.
[3] Other theories have been put forward.
[4]
Biography
Davis played with
Cootie Williams ,
Lucky Millinder ,
Andy Kirk ,
Eddie Bonnemère ,
Louis Armstrong , and
Count Basie , as well as leading his own bands and making many recordings as a leader. He played in the
swing ,
bop ,
hard bop ,
Latin jazz , and
soul jazz genres. Some of his recordings from the 1940s also could be classified as
rhythm and blues .
In 1940, when
Teddy Hill became the manager of the legendary
Minton's Jazz club, he put Eddie Davis in charge of deciding which musicians could, or couldn't, sit in during the jam sessions (playing in this Minton's sessions was coveted by many, including musicians which were not up to the demanding standards of the venue).
[5]
His 1946 band, Eddie Davis and His Beboppers, featured
Fats Navarro ,
Al Haig ,
Huey Long ,
[6]
Gene Ramey and
Denzil Best .
In the 1950s, he was playing with
Sonny Stitt , while from 1960 to 1962, he and fellow tenor saxophonist
Johnny Griffin led a quintet.
Starting in 1955, and up to 1960, Eddie Davis pioneered the tenor sax/
Hammond organ combo, in a group featuring Shirley Scott on the Hammond B3.
[7]
From the mid-1960s, Davis and Griffin also performed together as part of the
Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band , along with other, mainly European, jazz musicians.
[8]
Davis died of
Hodgkin's lymphoma in
Culver City, California , at the age of 64.
[9]
Discography
As leader/co-leader
1954: Goodies from Eddie Davis (
Roost [10" LP])
1955:
The Battle of Birdland [live] (Roost) – with
Sonny Stitt
1956: Modern Jazz Expressions (
King )
1956: Jazz With a Horn (King) – also released as This and That (King, 1959)
1956–57: Jazz With a Beat (King) – with
Shirley Scott ; released 1958
1957: Big Beat Jazz (King) – released 1958
1957: Uptown (King) – released 1958
1957:
Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman (
Roulette )
1958:
Eddie Davis Trio Featuring Shirley Scott, Organ (Roulette)
1958:
The Eddie Davis Trio Featuring Shirley Scott , Organ (Roost)
1958:
The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook , Vol. 1 (
Prestige ) – with Shirley Scott,
Jerome Richardson ; also released as In the Kitchen (Prestige, 1969)
1958:
Jaws (Prestige) – with Shirley Scott
1958:
The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook, Vol. 2 (Prestige) – with Shirley Scott, Jerome Richardson; also released as The Rev (Prestige, 1970)
1958:
The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook Volume 3 (Prestige) – with Shirley Scott, Jerome Richardson; released 1961
1958:
Smokin' [the 4th volume in the Cookbook series] (Prestige) – with Shirley Scott, Jerome Richardson; released 1964
1959:
Very Saxy (Prestige) – with
Buddy Tate ,
Coleman Hawkins ,
Arnett Cobb
1959:
Jaws in Orbit (Prestige) – with Steve Pulliam, Shirley Scott
1959:
Bacalao (Prestige) – with Shirley Scott
1960:
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Shirley Scott (Moodsville) note: Scott also on piano
1960:
Misty (Moodsville) – with Shirley Scott; released 1963
1960:
Afro-Jaws (
Riverside ) – with
Ray Barretto ; also released as Alma Alegre (Jazzland, 1964)
1960:
Battle Stations (Prestige) – with
Johnny Griffin ,
Norman Simmons ; released 1963
1960:
Trane Whistle (Prestige) – with big band arranged by
Oliver Nelson , Ernie Wilkins
1960:
Tough Tenors (
Jazzland ) – with Johnny Griffin,
Junior Mance
1960:
Griff & Lock (Jazzland) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance; released 1961
1961:
The Tenor Scene (Prestige) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance; also released as The Breakfast Show (Prestige, 1966)
1961:
The First Set (Prestige) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance; released 1964
1961:
The Midnight Show (Prestige) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance; released 1965
1961:
The Late Show (Prestige) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance; released 1965
1961:
Lookin' at Monk! (Jazzland) – with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance
1961:
Blues Up & Down (Jazzland) – with Johnny Griffin, Lloyd Mayers; released 1962
1962:
Tough Tenor Favorites (Jazzland) – with Johnny Griffin,
Horace Parlan
1962:
Jawbreakers (Riverside) – with
Harry "Sweets" Edison
1962:
Goin' to the Meeting (Prestige) – with Horace Parlan
1962:
I Only Have Eyes for You (Prestige) – with
Don Patterson ; released 1963
1962:
Trackin' (Prestige) – with Don Patterson; released 1963
1966:
Lock, the Fox (
RCA Victor ) – with
Ross Tompkins
1967:
The Fox & the Hounds (RCA Victor) – with big band arranged by Bobby Plater
1968:
Love Calls (RCA Victor) – with
Paul Gonsalves
1970:
Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again (
MPS ) – with Johnny Griffin
1974:
Leapin' on Lenox (
Black & Blue )
1975:
The Tenor Giants Featuring Oscar Peterson (
Pablo ) – with
Zoot Sims
1975:
Light and Lovely (Black & Blue) – with Harry "Sweets" Edison
1975:
Chewin' the Fat (Spotlite)
1976:
Jaws Strikes Again (Black & Blue) – with
Wild Bill Davis
1976:
Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home (
SteepleChase ;
Inner City )
1976:
Straight Ahead (Pablo)
1976:
Lockjaw with Sweets (Storyville) – with Harry "Sweets" Edison
1976:
Opus Funk (Storyville) – with Harry "Sweets" Edison
1977:
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis 4 – Montreux '77 (Pablo)
1977:
Simply Sweets (Pablo) – with Harry "Sweets" Edison,
Dolo Coker
1978:
Midnight Slows Vol. 10 (Black & Blue) – with
Bill Doggett
1979:
The Heavy Hitter (
Muse )
1981:
Jaw's Blues (
Enja ) – with Horace Parlan; released 1986
1981: Sonny, Sweets & Jaws – Recorded Live at Bubba's (
Who's Who in Jazz ) – with Sonny Stitt, Harry "Sweets" Edison
1983: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis/Harry "Sweets" Edison/Al Grey – Jazz at the Philharmonic 1983 (Pablo) – recorded 1982
1983:
All of Me (SteepleChase) – with
Kenny Drew
1983:
Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (Pablo)
1984: Tough Tenors Back Again! (Storyville) – with Johnny Griffin; released 1998
As sideman
With
Mildred Anderson
With
Count Basie
The Count! (
Clef , 1952 [rel. 1955])
Basie Jazz (Clef, 1952 [rel. 1954])
Dance Session Album #2 (Clef, 1954)
The Atomic Mr. Basie (Roulette, 1957) – originally titled Basie ; also known as E=MC2
Everyday I Have the Blues (Roulette, 1959)
The Count Basie Story (Roulette, 1960)
Pop Goes the Basie (
Reprise , 1965)
Basie Meets Bond (
United Artists , 1966)
Live at the Sands (Before Frank) (Reprise, 1966 [rel. 1998])
Sinatra at the Sands (Reprise, 1966)
Basie's Beatle Bag (
Verve , 1966)
Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' (
ABC-Paramount , 1966)
Basie's Beat (Verve, 1967)
Broadway Basie's...Way (
Command , 1966)
Hollywood...Basie's Way (Command, 1967)
Basie's in the Bag (
Brunswick , 1967)
Count Basie Captures Walt Disney's
The Happiest Millionaire (
Coliseum , 1967)
Manufacturers of Soul (Brunswick, 1968)
The Board of Directors Annual Report (
Dot , 1968)
Basie Straight Ahead (Dot, 1968)
How About This (
Paramount , 1968)
Standing Ovation (Dot, 1969)
Basic Basie (MPS, 1969)
Basie on the Beatles (Happy Tiger, 1969)
High Voltage (MPS, 1970)
Basie Jam (Pablo, 1973)
Mostly Blues...and Some Others (Pablo, 1983)
With
Billy Butler
Don't Be That Way (Black & Blue, 1976)
With
Benny Carter
With the
Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
With
Arnett Cobb
With Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners
Coming Home (Black & Blue, 1976)
With
Wild Bill Davis
All Right OK You Win (Black & Blue, 1976)
With
Harry Edison
With
Red Garland
With
Dizzy Gillespie
With
Al Grey
With
Tiny Grimes
With
Coleman Hawkins
With
Jo Jones
With
Quincy Jones
With Al Smith
Hear My Blues (Bluesville, 1959)
[10] – with Shirley Scott; also released as Blues Shout! (Prestige, 1964)
With
Sonny Stitt
References
^ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience . Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 260.
ISBN
978-0313344237 .
^
Yanow, Scott .
"Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis Biography" .
AllMusic .
All Media Network . Retrieved January 20, 2016 .
^ Hightower, Laura.
"Davis, Eddie 'Lockjaw' " . Encyclopedia.com .
^
"Jazz Nicknames" on Allaboutjazz.com.
^
"Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis" at Jazzleadsheets.com.
^
Huey Long biography at Venus Hair , which establishes that this member of
The Ink Spots was also the guitarist of Davis's Beboppers.
^ Nadal, James,
"Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis" , Allaboutjazz.com.
^ Kart, Larry (November 4, 1986).
"Tenor Saxophone Great Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis" .
Chicago Tribune .
^
"Eddie (Lockjaw) Davis Dies; Saxophonist With Jazz Greats" .
The New York Times .
Associated Press . November 6, 1986.
^ Alex Henderson (September 20, 1959).
"Hear My Blues - Mildred Anderson, Al Smith | Songs, Reviews, Credits" .
AllMusic . Retrieved November 4, 2016 .
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