Richard Davis: R.I.P.

[Dr. Cheese]

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I am posting here because he was a fine bass guitarist too.

 

[kobass]

RIP.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Sad to see this. R.I.P., Richard.

 

[Michedelic]

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I am posting here because he was a fine bass guitarist too.

I got a NYT paywall, so here’s another obit…
Richard Davis, bassist who left his mark across genres, is dead at 93

A career similar to Spike Lee’s dad, Bill.

 

[dougjwray]

I feel a little silly talking about this immediately after my "I was Jaco's student" contributions to another thread, but...
I was ALSO Richard's student!
It was May-July 1977, and I studied upright with him at his home in the West 80s in Manhattan. The lessons stopped abruptly when he moved to Madison, Wisconsin.
I was a rank beginner on the upright bass.
He was a great teacher, and he had a playful sense of humor. My girlfriend's father was a cellist who occasionally did recording sessions with Richard, and he suggested that I call him and ask for lessons. I knew Richard from jazz history books, like the one by Leonard Feather, who called him the most versatile bassist who ever lived. I was terrified, and it took me weeks to call him. But he really put me at ease.
He was a master who thoroughly understood how music works, and he could play inside or go way, *way* out. I believe he was the bassist in the band who played at John Coltrane's funeral.
R.I.P.
He had quite a life!