Double Bass Richard Davis' Bass

[MaxJohnson]

Anyone out there know the story behind Richard's bass with the lion's head. It looks like a pretty standard german carved bass, but not one that I've ever seen a carving on, curious about it's origin or if any of his former students had a line on what it was he played. Also, is there a thread on here about the basses that famous bassists played? I'd be curious just to know the history of some of these instruments that Jimmy Garrison, Eddie Khan, Henry Grimes, Gary Peacock, etc played on their 60's recordings. Just for kicks.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Great question. Sorry I have no answers, but I look forward to hearing from those who do. I think some contemporary players like Christian McBride, John Clayton, and Rufus Reid play some basses formerly owned by Ray Brown and Sam Jones, and somebody else has one of Milt Hinton's former basses, but that's as far as I go. I'm also curious about whether some of the guys you mentioned bought used, new, or custom made.

 

[garrett2]

There’s Percy Heath’s Ruggeri!

 

[GeeDeeAitch]

Richard Davis' lion's head bass is a Pollman, if I recall correctly.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

It looks like a pretty standard german carved bass, but not one that I've ever seen a carving on...

I dunno, there's a few around - Glen Moore's Klötz, Michael Ross used to have a generic German with lion's head scroll, Alexis Cuadrado's bass, Charlie Haden's old Pollmann...

 

[dperrott]

Gary's English bass is an 1879 Samuel Allen. He was an English bow maker.

 

[lurk]

When I studied with Richard at his home in NYC, I saw but never played 4 basses. That lion's head, which didn't look like a Pollman to me - I've got a non-lion head Pollman - the head was more delicate than the lions on the Pollmans I've seen - which was his main recording bass, a German bass with a magnetic pickup that he used in loud and live situations, which came up pretty often, a highly decorated pancake bass which I never saw him play, and an Ampeg Baby Bass which I never saw him play. As I recall they were all strung with Spiro solos. I don't know if his teaching methods changed, but in my lessons he rarely played, only occasionally taking my bass to demonstrate something.

 

[MaxJohnson]

When I studied with Richard at his home in NYC, I saw but never played 4 basses. That lion's head, which didn't look like a Pollman to me - I've got a non-lion head Pollman - the head was more delicate than the lions on the Pollmans I've seen - which was his main recording bass, a German bass with a magnetic pickup that he used in loud and live situations, which came up pretty often, a highly decorated pancake bass which I never saw him play, and an Ampeg Baby Bass which I never saw him play. As I recall they were all strung with Spiro solos. I don't know if his teaching methods changed, but in my lessons he rarely played, only occasionally taking my bass to demonstrate something.

This is exactly what I was looking for!!

 

[lurk]

This is exactly what I was looking for!!

I should add that he had a brownstone on W 87th St. and there was lots of it I never saw so there was plenty of space for more instruments.

 

[GeeDeeAitch]

From an interview posted today, the University of Wisconsin and Peter Dominguez currently have custodianship of Richard's Bass, which is described as "Circa 1850s German Lion Head with Contra C extension" and is not, as I erroneously recalled, a Pollman.

Bass Salute: An Interview with Peter Dominguez

From the article:

"One of the reasons to come to Madison was that what I had done for Milt’s legacy in those ten years, I could do with Richard Davis. I have his famous Lion Head bass. I used research funds and the University bought it from the family. Milt’s bass will always be at Oberlin and it will always be Milt’s bass. No one else will own it. The University of Wisconsin owns the lion head. It’s the studio bass. It’s a Ferrari. With the sloping shoulders, you can get around on it so easily."