Nathan Davis Quintet – The Hip Walk (1965/2016) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Nathan Davis is an American hard bop jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. He is one of the great balladeers of modern jazz. Nathan Davis spent some time living and working in Europe in the mid-’60s before returning to the United States to serve in jazz education. His recordings as a leader have been hard to find, so this 1965 studio session will be a welcome discovery for collectors who can find it.

This album features trumpeter Carmell Jones, pianist Francy Boland and drummer Kenny Clarke. Although the arrangements are equally challenging, things seem looser on this session, suggesting that there was more time to rehearse, though that is unlikely, since Jones was flown in especially for this date. The Coltrane influence is again apparent in the ballad “While Children Sleep.” It would be easy to imagine Art Blakey tackling the furious “Train of Thought”. Davis switches to flute for a haunting take of Jerome Kern’s “Yesterdays”. This valuable music was reissued in Europe by Motor Music in 1998, though it may very well have already lapsed again from print; it is well-worth investigating.

Tracklist:
01 – The Hip Walk
02 – While Children Sleep
03 – Train of Thought
04 – Yesterdays
05 – That Kaycee Thing
06 – Carmell’s Black Forest Waltz
07 – B’s Blues

Produced by Joachim Ernst Berendt. Engineered by Ralf Donner.
Recorded on September 1, 1965 at SABA Tonstudio Villingen, Germany.
Digitally remastered in 2015.

Musicians:
Nathan Davis – tenor & soprano saxophones, flute
Carmell Jones – trumpet
Francy Boland – piano
Jimmy Woode – bass
Kenny Clarke – drums

Download:

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