Bassist and pedagogue Richard Davis has been named as one of
four 2014 NEA Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts
in the US.
The NEA Jazz Masters is America's highest honour for jazz, and
comes with a one-time award of $25,000. Davis, along with fellow
honorees Jamey Aebersold, Anthony Braxton and Keith Jarrett, will
receive their awards at a concert and ceremony in New York on 13
January 2014.
The Chicago-born Davis has been a professor at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison since 1977, teaching bass, jazz history and jazz
combo improvisation. Prior to taking up his teaching post, he spent
23 years in New York, establishing his reputation as a leading
bassist. Among the artists he performed and recorded with were Ben
Webster, Sarah Vaughan, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Frank Sinatra
and Miles Davis.
Davis is one of the most widely recorded bassists in history, and
has made more than twelve albums as leader. He has toured
internationally, performing in Japan, Europe, South America, Puerto
Rico, Cuba, the West Indies, Hong Kong and Israel.
Davis studied, and also teaches, classical bass, and has performed
under conductors including George Szell, Leopold Stokowski, Igor
Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez, Gunther Schuller and Leonard
Bernstein.
Photo: Katrin Talbot, University of
Wisconsin–Madison
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