Kris Davis
| Kris Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1980 (age 35–36) Vancouver, Canada |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | Early 2000s–present |
| Labels | Fresh Sound, Clean Feed |
| Website | krisdavis.net |
Kris Davis (born 1980) is a Canadian jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Davis was born in Vancouver in 1980 and grew up in Calgary, Alberta.[1] She studied classical piano from the age of six[1] and discovered jazz while a high school student.[2] She transcribed performances by pianists Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett.[2] She later reported that, "By the eighth grade I knew I wanted to be a jazz musician."[1] She later majored in jazz piano at the University of Toronto.[1][2]
Later life and career
Davis moved to New York in 2001.[2] Her piano style changed after her first album, Lifespan – "I decided not to play chords anymore, just to play lines".[2] She later obtained a classical composition degree from the City College of New York.[2]
In 2009, Davis played solo concerts during a tour of Portugal.[2] She followed this with a solo piano album, Aeriol Piano,[2] which included sections for prepared piano.[3] Her 2014 trio album Waiting for You to Grow was the follow-up to Good Citizen around five years earlier.[1] She commented that, on the earlier release, "I had this concept to make it almost like a pop record, where the tunes are really short [while] on the new record the tunes are much longer and explore multiple areas. I just wanted to write and not have any preconceived ideas".[1]
In 2013, Davis composed a suite for four bass clarinets, guitar, piano, organ and drums.[3] In 2014, Davis had a six-day residency at The Stone in New York City,[1] and played in the UK for the first time.[4] She plans to launch a record label, Pyroclastic Records, in 2016.[5] A new quartet, with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, will play John Zorn compositions in the second half of 2016.[5]
Personal life
Davis was formerly married to the drummer Jeff Davis.[2] She married guitarist Nate Radley in 2012 and they had a son in 2013.[1]
Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Lifespan | Fresh Sound | Sextet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax, soprano sax), Russ Johnson (flugelhorn, trumpet), Jason Rigby (tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
| 2005 | The Slightest Shift | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
| 2005 | Fiction Avalanche | Clean Feed | As part of the RIDD Quartet; with Jon irabagon (sax), Reuben Radding (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
| 2007 | Rye Eclipse | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
| 2008 | Three | Clean Feed | As part of the band SKM; trio, with Stephen Gauci (sax), Michael Bisio (bass) |
| 2009 | Paradoxical Frog | Clean Feed | As part of the band Paradoxical Frog; trio, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Tyshawn Sorey (drums) |
| 2009 | Good Citizen | Fresh Sound | Trio, with John Hebert (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
| 2009 | Aeriol Piano | Clean Feed | Solo piano |
| 2011 | Union | Clean Feed | As part of the band Paradoxical Frog; trio, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Tyshawn Sorey (drums) |
| 2012 | Capricorn Climber | Clean Feed | Quintet, with Mat Maneri (viola), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Trevor Dunn (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
| 2012 | Vermilion Tree | For Tune | As part of the band 3d; trio, with Tomasz Dąbrowski (trumpet, balkan horn), Andrew Drury (drums) |
| 2012 | Massive Threads | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
| 2013* | Lark | Skirl | As part of the band Lark; quartet, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Tom Rainey (drums) |
| 2013 | Waiting for You to Grow | Clean Feed | Trio, with John Hebert (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
| 2014 | Save Your Breath | Clean Feed | With Joachim Badenhorst, Andrew Bishop, Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega (bass clarinet), Gary Versace (organ), Nate Radley (guitar), Jim Black (drums) |
| 2016* | Duopoly | Pyroclastic | Duos, with Don Byron (clarinet), Tim Berne (alto sax), Marcus Gilmore (drums), Billy Drummond (drums), Angelica Sanchez (piano), Craig Taborn (piano), Julian Lage (guitar), Bill Frisell (guitar) |
As sidewoman
| Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Rocket Engine, Rocket Engine | What Is This That Stands Before Me? | Loyal |
| 2008* | Irabagon, JonJon Irabagon | Outright! | Innova |
| 2010* | Davis, JeffJeff Davis | We Sleep Outside | Loyal |
| 2010* | Laubrock, IngridIngrid Laubrock | Anti-House | Intakt |
| 2011* | Driscoll, KermitKermit Driscoll | Reveille | 19/8 |
| 2011* | Malaby, TonyTony Malaby | Novela | Clean Feed |
| 2011* | Wolper, AndreaAndrea Wolper | Parallel Lives | Jazzed Media |
| 2013* | Laubrock, IngridIngrid Laubrock | Strong Place | Intakt |
| 2013* | Revis, EricEric Revis | City of Asylum | Clean Feed |
| 2016* | Revis, EricEric Revis | Crowded Solitudes | Clean Feed |
| 2014* | Musillami, MichaelMichael Musillami | Pride | Playscape |
| 2014* | Bauder, MattMatt Bauder | Nightshades | Clean Feed |
| 2014* | Rainey, TomTom Rainey | Obbligato | Intakt |
| 2015* | Laubrock, IngridIngrid Laubrock | Roulette of the Cradle | Intakt |
| 2015* | Fraser, NickNick Fraser | Too Many Continents | Clean Feed |
| 2015* | Gray, DevinDevin Gray | Relative Resonance | Skirl |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Adler, David R. (6 October 2014) "Kris Davis: Good Citizen". JazzTimes.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ratliff, Ben (6 October 2011) "New Pilots at the Keyboard". The New York Times.
- 1 2 Bambarger, Bradley (December 2013) "Kris Davis – New Approaches". Down Beat. p. 23.
- ↑ "Kris Davis Trio: Kris Davis / John Hebert / Tom Rainey". vortexjazz.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- 1 2 Hale, James (July 2016) "Kris Davis". Down Beat. p. 36.