This week’s edition of Mondays with Morgan is an interview between Morgan Enos and Steve Davis, a celebrated trombonist and former Jazz Messenger who has recorded with everyone from Chick Corea to Horace Silver to Cedar Walton. His new album documents a 2008 record date between himself, the late pianist Hank Jones, and bassist Peter Washington.
Like any jazz practitioner worth their salt, trombonist Steve Davis was a fan and admirer of the great Hank Jones: a piano legend with immaculate touch, and the eldest of perhaps the most important fraternal trio in jazz history. So when Davis first got the opportunity to play with the man, he was naturally on cloud nine. The album was 2007’s Eloquence, where Davis and Jones were joined by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Nat Reeves, and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
“At the end of the session, I thanked Mr. Jones profusely for agreeing to do it,” Davis recounts to LondonJazz. “And he said, ‘Why, Stevie? We had such a wonderful time, I think perhaps we ought to do it again.’ So I said, ‘Twist my arm!’”
For the follow-up, Davis envisioned a drumless trio — himself, Jones, and bass pacesetter Peter Washington.
“The idea for that session, in my mind, was Hank and Pete Wash were playing a Bradley’s duo,” he says, referring to the Greenwich Village club, which became famous for showcasing piano-led duos and trios before its 1996 shuttering. “And I’m sitting in and trying not to mess it all up.”
The trio ended up laying a recital to tape at the South Orange, New Jersey, home of John Lee (the bassist, director, and coordinator of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band). To Davis, the ensuing music emanated from something of a flow state: “It was almost an out-of-body experience doing that date,” he says.
Despite their quality, these recordings fell between the cracks — until today. On 24 November, thanks to Smoke Sessions Records, they saw the light of day, in the form of Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Volume 1.
The album features one Jones original, “Interface,” followed by standards like “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “Cry Me a River,” and “We’ll Be Together Again.” It’s an elegant window into what would be Jones’ final sessions, before his death in 2010 at age 91.
“His playing is so acutely great that it makes you feel as if you can’t do anything wrong,” Davis says. “It was one of the highlights of my whole career.” Read on for a full interview with the trombonist about how this 15-year-old session came to be, and much more.
UKJazz News: How did you and Hank Jones come to cross paths in this life?
Steve Davis: You know, I was just a fan from afar, for decades. I mean, anybody who becomes interested in jazz music will encounter Hank Jones’s great discography and hopefully have a chance to see him perform live, which I did.
I just listened to as many of his recordings as I could find — mostly his solo and trio recordings. Then, I would make trips into New York to go hear and play with his trio, which featured [bassist] George Mraz and [drummer] Dennis Mackrel.
It took several years until I finally met him; I was in my late 30s. Hank came to hear us play one night at the Blue Note, and was complimentary to me. I think I had a solo on Dennis Mackrel’s arrangement of Monk’s “I Mean You.”
UKJN: How did things transpire from that point?
SD: At one point, Hank wound up staying at John Lee’s house out in South Orange, New Jersey, for a few days. John knew I was a huge fan. This was 2006, I believe.
John called me one day and said, “Hey, Stevie, I need to test this new copy of an RCA ribbon mic. Maybe you could come down and try the mic out for me. And by the way, your man Hank Jones is here; he’s been here for a few days.”
So, I raced down one Wednesday evening.
UKJN: Wow. What did you guys talk about?
SD: We talked baseball. He was a Mets fan; I’m a big Red Sox fan. After a while, he went to the piano, and John had his electric bass. A friend from the neighbourhood named Karl Latham played brushes on the snare drum and one ride cymbal. Hank said, “Ah, you’ve got your horn — well, let’s play!”
He called tunes, I called a few tunes, and we just played until two in the morning. It was magical. It was incredible. It was a dream come true for me.
Now, that was just a jam session. I was good with that. If that’s all I ever got to do with Hank, it was amazing. But we wound up getting together and doing two different recording sessions over the next couple of years, and I played a concert with him in New York.
I used to go visit him at his apartment and talk about chord changes to different standards. He was in his late 80s, and it was just a very, very poignant and magical experience to get to know him in those years.
UKJN: I love drumless groups; at their best, they defy gravity. Can you talk about playing in that context with Hank?
SD: I know what you mean. It’s actually quite freeing. Because we were just in the living room making this recording with little to no separation, what you’re hearing is alive: it’s a very organic recording.
I think you can get into the nuances of everybody’s sound and touch — the three of us — and play dynamically and very in tune with each other.
Now, that said, you’re talking about the great Hank Jones, who is renowned for his touch and acumen in terms of accompaniment, never mind his soloing. I mean, that’s always incredible, but his comping was remarkable.
With what Peter was playing on the bass and whatever I was doing, Hank was always feeding into the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic mix. And then, I love the way Peter would react to those things. Peter’s bass lines and walking are so melodic and harmonically sophisticated, and his time is incredible.
So, we had this very clear place to meet — an uncluttered musical space. It came out even better than I imagined. I mean, it was 15 years ago; I hope that today I’m a better player, and growing. But making this record was a very satisfying experience.
UKJN: Can you talk about the material? I see it’s mostly standards.
SD: We did one original — “Interface,” by Hank Jones, which is a minor blues. It has some real twists and turns in the chord progression, especially in the turnaround.
But for this session, it really felt like the American Songbook was absolutely the place to draw repertoire from, as well as one by Charlie Parker, “Au Privave”, and one by Bill Evans, “Nardis.” These will appear on Volume 2. So, some bebop, some standards, and then one of Hank’s pieces; that was plenty. It felt like the right place for us to congregate musically, if you will.
UKJN: “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and “We’ll Be Together Again” must have been unforgettable. Just you and Hank.
SD: Yes, indeed. At the time, I thought I should try to deliver these beautiful melodies in the purest way I could, because Hank would absolutely dress things up from there. He’d be free to embellish and add all of his brilliant interpretations and touches to the chord progressions and counterpoint to the song — almost as if he was playing solo, you know?
I was trying to stay out of the way, but still be the melodic voice on the trombone. Listening back to it all these years later, I may have embellished a little more myself, at this point in my life. But I’m really glad I kept it a bit sparse, because I think it allowed for Mr. Jones to really do his thing. I’m so grateful to even be a part of that.
UKJN: We musicians tend to have influences in our heads, who we call to the bench as needed. Who did you internally summon — not just regarding the importance of the occasion, but that ethereal, ballad-y space?
SD: I get what you’re driving at, but when you’re in the moment playing, you’re not necessarily thinking in terms of, OK, I’m going to be Curtis Fuller now, or I’m gonna tip my hat to Jay, et cetera.
Also, it’s not just trombone influences, as you might imagine, either. You know, Ben Webster — the way he plays a ballad or duet. Chet Baker, Miles, Dexter Gordon. I mean, you could go on and on — all the voices in jazz music that I adore.
I hope a little bit of all of them is in my sound and approach. Of course, there’s my mentor, Jackie McLean. Then there are all the trombone titans, my biggest three influences amongst them being J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, and Slide Hampton.
But, in the moment, you’re just singing. You have to think through your horn, and be you. [Chuckles.] And hope that’s good enough.
It’s probably a cliché to hear this, but over time, I’ve grown so much more appreciative of a great singer, great vocalists in the history of the music. My wife, Abena Koomson-Davis, is a wonderful singer; I get to be with her and listen to her all the time.
There’s no quote-unquote intermediary, you know? There’s no instrument in between; they are the instrument. So, that’s my goal when I play — to be as lyrical and melodic as possible, from my heart.
