Davis, Anthony
Davis, Anthony
Davis, Anthony , progressive jazz pianist, composer; b. Paterson, N.J., Feb. 20,1951. His father, Charles T. Davis, is a professor of African-American literature. He studied at Yale Univ. (B. A., 1975) and proved himself to be an extremely facile jazz pianist. He was co-founder of Advent (1973), a free jazz ensemble which included trombonist George Lewis; then played in trumpeter Leo Smith’s New Delta Ahkri band (1974–77). He played in N.Y. with violinist Leroy Jenkins (1977–79) and with flutist James Newton, who are both active proponents of the Assoc. for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. His compositions, while strictly notated, are improvisational in tone. His opera X, based on the life of Malcolm X, was produced in Philadelphia (1985) and at N.Y.C. Opera (1986). In 1998 he premiered another opera, Amistad. He often collaborates with his sister, a poet.
Discography
Of Blues and Dreams (1978); Past Lives (1978); Song for the Old World (1978); Hidden Voices (with J. Newton; 1979); Lady of the Mirrors (1980); Episteme (1981); Under the Double Moon (with J. Hoggard; 1982); I’ve Known Rivers (1982); Mystic Winds, Tropic Breezes (1982); Variations in Dreamtime (1982); Hemispheres (1983); Middle Passage (1984); Ghost Factory (1987); Trio, Vol. 2 (1989); Trio, Vol. 1 (1990); X:The Life and Times of Malcolm X (1992).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Lewis Porter