Kenny Davis, acoustic and electric bass player, composer, arranger

Jazz Threads performance date: September 27, 2003

Born 1961 in Chicago, Illinois

Getting started: Kenny Davis cut his teeth on music by listening to Earth Wind & Fire, Brothers Johnson, and The Temptations. He didn't "discover" jazz until college, but quickly immersed himself in the tradition by hitting the Chicago scene hard and sitting in with groups led by saxophonists Von Freeman, Ari Brown, and Fred Anderson. When he moved to New York in 1986, Kenny Davis started out by taking gigs his roommate, Lonnie Plaxico, couldn't fit into his own schedule, before hooking up with Out of the Blue (OTB).

Education: Northeastern Illinois University

Career highlights: This is one bass player who likes to groove in a huge variety of contexts. Bass Player magazine reports: "On pianist Michele Rosewoman's Harvest, Davis gives a tour-de-force acoustic display… On Art Farmer's Silk Road, Davis slips into his trad-jazz jacket... Kenny switches to his Fodera 5-string on Hasidic New Wave's Jews and the Abstract Truth…" It doesn't matter whether it's jingles, a Broadway hit like The Lion King, "The Tonight Show" Band, tours with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, performing with fusion violinist Michael Urbaniak and the avant-garde jazz/klezmer group Hasidic New Wave, or gigs with pop stars like Lyle Lovett, Roberta Flack, and Willie Nelson; Kenny Davis stays focused on the music and ready to play with all the strength of his life experiences.

Most recent recording: Carla Cook's Simply Natural (2002, Maxjazz)

Artists with whom he has recorded: Ron McCurdy Quintet, Cecil Bridgewater, Regina Carter, Rodney Jones, Art Farmer, Don Byron, Cassandra Wilson, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Roberta Flack, Della Reese, Dianne Reeves, Freddy Hubbard, Hasidic New Wave, OTB

Touring advice: Kenny Davis works hard to keep his health while spending half the year on the road. "I'll find a gym and do free weights, the StairMaster, calisthenics. I try to get my rest and eat healthfully."

Not to be confused with: jazz trumpet player and Oberlin Conservatory of Music faculty member Kenneth Davis, also known as Kenny Davis.)