Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
With his cutting, throaty tone and hard-swinging style, tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis straddled the big-band, bebop, R&B, and soul-jazz eras. Although known as one of the great jazz pugilists, ably holding his own at jam sessions and on record, it was his effusive approach to jazz and blues that he brought to new heights with Hammond B-3 organist Shirley Scott. Together, they released a string of albums in the late-'50s, including In the Kitchen, Cookbook, Vol. 1, and Jaws, that were the paradigm of the soul-jazz organ group sound. Davis was also a vital member of the Count Basie group, recording from the '50s into the early '70s and appearing on numerous albums. He also led hard-charging dates with saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Johnny Griffin, and trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and was a busy soloist right up until his passing in the 1980s.
Born Edward F. Davis in 1922 in New York City, Davis was largely self-taught on the tenor saxophone. He came up in the 1930's in Harlem, playing with artists like Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, and Louis Armstrong. He regularly played at Minton's Jazz Club in the '40s and led his own group, Eddie Davis and His Beboppers, featuring Fats Navarro, Al Haig, Huey Long, Gene Ramey, and Denzil Best. It was with this group, and several other small group configurations, that he made his recorded debut, releasing a series of burning, earthy sides for labels like Savoy, King, Lenox, and Royal Roost.
By the '50s, he had started leading groups featuring organists, as on the early Roost LP Goodies from Eddie Davis, featuring Bill Doggett and Eddie Bonnemère. He also recorded with organist Jimmy Smith and formed a fruitful partnership with saxophonist Sonny Stitt, releasing a high energy 1955 concert album, Live at Birdland. However, it was his collaborative work with organist Shirley Scott that cemented his reputation. Together, they recorded a series of earthy, hard-driving albums that helped to popularize the bluesy, small group tenor and organ soul-jazz sound. Many of their albums had food-themes, beginning with 1958's In the Kitchen and running through Jaws, Cookbook, Vols. 1, 2, and 3, and ending with 1960's Misty. Also in 1960, he and Scott backed vocalist Mildred Anderson on , Davis was a key member of the Count Basie Big Band, debuting on 1955's The Count, and appearing on albums with the group into the early '70s. He soloed on such notable numbers as "Flight of the Foo Birds" and "After Supper" and played classic albums like The Atomic Mr. Basie, Sinatra at the Sands, Basie Straight Ahead, High Voltage, and more.
Beginning in the '60s, he co-led a quintet with fellow tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, playing head-to-head on albums like Battle Stations, Griff & Lock, and the Tenor Scene. Both Davis and Griffin also performed together as part of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band in Europe. Davis also collaborated on similarly vibrant dates with Harry "Sweets" Edison, Don Patterson, Paul Gonzalves, and others.
More albums followed, including 1976's Straight Ahead with Tommy Flanagan, 1981's Jaws Blues with Horace Parlan, and 1983's All of Me with Kenny Drew. There were also further dates with Basie like Basie Jam, as well as sessions with Dizzy Gillespie, Richie Cole, and Milt Jackson, among others. Davis died November 3, 1986 of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Culver City, California, at the age of 64. In the decades following his death, a bevy of live albums, like 2019's Ow! Live at the Penthouse with Johnny Griffin and the 2023 anthology Cookin' with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums, helped keep his legacy as a supremely charismatic soloist and architect of the soul-jazz organ sound alive.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Moodsville Volume 1: The Blue Room
Red Garland Trio, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Jazz - Editado por SINETONE AMR el 31 ene. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bebop Story, The Early Years Vol 6, 1944 (Hq remastered 2022)
Cootie Williams, Bud Powell, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Jazz - Editado por Vintage Recordings el 21 nov. 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Swingville Volume 16: Night Hawk
Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Jazz - Editado por SINETONE AMR el 31 ene. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Very Saxy! (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Buddy Tate, Coleman Hawkins, Arnett Cobb
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 29 abr. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tenor Scene (Hq Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz - Editado por Vintage Recordings el 4 ago. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moodsville Vol. 30: Misty
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Shirley Scott
Jazz - Editado por SINETONE AMR el 7 abr. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tough Tenor Favorites
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Lounge - Editado por Ancien Prodige el 18 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 4: Callin' the Blues
Tiny Grimes, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, J.C. Higginbottom
Jazz - Editado por SINETONE AMR el 31 ene. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Best
Jazz - Editado por Vintage Jukebox el 25 sept. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Griff And Lock (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin Quintet
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 4 dic. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Sessions 1960-1961 (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin Quintet
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 7 nov. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Battle Stations (Expanded, HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 4 dic. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live! The Midnight Show (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 1 ene. 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The First Set / Recorded Live At Mintons (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 4 dic. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Late Show (HD Remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz vocal - Editado por Reborn recordings el 4 dic. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Have Horn, Will Blow / The Chef (All Tracks Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Hit Singles Records el 3 jun. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Late Show (Hq remastered)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz - Editado por Vintage Recordings el 26 mar. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eddie - The Lost Sessions
Jazz - Editado por Jazz2Jazz el 16 may. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo