'Wild' Bill Davison (January 5, 1906, Defiance, Ohio – November 14, 1989, S… Read Full Bio ↴'Wild' Bill Davison (January 5, 1906, Defiance, Ohio – November 14, 1989, Santa Barbara, California) was a fiery jazz cornet player who emerged in the 1920s, but did not achieve recognition until the 1940s. He is best remembered for his association with the bandleader Eddie Condon, with whom he worked and recorded from the mid-1940s through to the 1960s.
Born in Defiance, Ohio in 1906, Wild Bill had a powerful, if somewhat limited, style on the cornet. The poet Philip Larkin, a fan, described his playing thus:
"...a player of notable energy, he uses a wide range of conscious tonal distortions, heavy vibrato, and an urgent, bustling attack. At slow tempos he is melting, almost articulate. Humphrey Lyttelton has compared him with the kind of reveller who throws his arm round your neck one moment and tries to knock you down the next."
"All the same, his stylistic mannerisms-the deep hoarse blurrings, the athletic in-front-of-the-beat timing, the flaring shakes-are highly conscious (the 'Wild' is more a personal than a musical sobriquet), and, imposed as they are on a conventional Armstrong basis, make Davison one of the most exciting of white small-band trumpeters. His sessions with Sidney Bechet for Blue Note are collisions of two furious jazz talents which at the same time were oddly sympathetic, and prove his ability to play in any kind of milieu; his numerous sides in the Condon tradition show him uniting with (Pee Wee) Russell in the same way. But solo after solo demonstrates that he is not a 'wild' player: each note is perfectly shaped and pitched as if the cornet were his speaking voice, in the style of his favourites (Louis) Armstrong and (Bobby) Hackett, and with an emotional immediacy always hard to parallel." [1]
Richard M. Sudhalter described first seeing Wild Bill at Eddie Condon's Club in New York City in the 1950s:
"Up there, incredibly, is Bill Davison himself, looking like anything *but* the standard image of the cornet or trumpet player. Not like Louis Armstrong, horn tilted up and eyes rolled back as the tone takes flight; not like Maxie Kaminsky, so tiny that his instrument seems gigantic in his hands. Not like Bix Beiderbecke, in some old photo or other, dented cornet pointed resolutely to the floor.
"Nope. This guy is seated, one leg crossed casually over the other, drink on an upended barrel in front of him. He sweeps the cornet into the side of his mouth to expel some supercharged phrase, then jerks it away as if it's too hot to keep there. And I realize, awe-struck, he's chewing *gum*! Where in the world does he *keep* that stuff when he's blowing?
"In short, he looked just the way he sounded - like a guy from Ohio (a town named, aptly, Defiance) with a fierce, uninhibited way of attacking the beat, driving a band of whatever size halfway into tomorrow. The music comes out as from a flame-thrower, but with a density and momentum only suggested by even the best (of his) records". [2]
Born in Defiance, Ohio in 1906, Wild Bill had a powerful, if somewhat limited, style on the cornet. The poet Philip Larkin, a fan, described his playing thus:
"...a player of notable energy, he uses a wide range of conscious tonal distortions, heavy vibrato, and an urgent, bustling attack. At slow tempos he is melting, almost articulate. Humphrey Lyttelton has compared him with the kind of reveller who throws his arm round your neck one moment and tries to knock you down the next."
"All the same, his stylistic mannerisms-the deep hoarse blurrings, the athletic in-front-of-the-beat timing, the flaring shakes-are highly conscious (the 'Wild' is more a personal than a musical sobriquet), and, imposed as they are on a conventional Armstrong basis, make Davison one of the most exciting of white small-band trumpeters. His sessions with Sidney Bechet for Blue Note are collisions of two furious jazz talents which at the same time were oddly sympathetic, and prove his ability to play in any kind of milieu; his numerous sides in the Condon tradition show him uniting with (Pee Wee) Russell in the same way. But solo after solo demonstrates that he is not a 'wild' player: each note is perfectly shaped and pitched as if the cornet were his speaking voice, in the style of his favourites (Louis) Armstrong and (Bobby) Hackett, and with an emotional immediacy always hard to parallel." [1]
Richard M. Sudhalter described first seeing Wild Bill at Eddie Condon's Club in New York City in the 1950s:
"Up there, incredibly, is Bill Davison himself, looking like anything *but* the standard image of the cornet or trumpet player. Not like Louis Armstrong, horn tilted up and eyes rolled back as the tone takes flight; not like Maxie Kaminsky, so tiny that his instrument seems gigantic in his hands. Not like Bix Beiderbecke, in some old photo or other, dented cornet pointed resolutely to the floor.
"Nope. This guy is seated, one leg crossed casually over the other, drink on an upended barrel in front of him. He sweeps the cornet into the side of his mouth to expel some supercharged phrase, then jerks it away as if it's too hot to keep there. And I realize, awe-struck, he's chewing *gum*! Where in the world does he *keep* that stuff when he's blowing?
"In short, he looked just the way he sounded - like a guy from Ohio (a town named, aptly, Defiance) with a fierce, uninhibited way of attacking the beat, driving a band of whatever size halfway into tomorrow. The music comes out as from a flame-thrower, but with a density and momentum only suggested by even the best (of his) records". [2]
At The Jazz Band Ball
Wild Bill Davison Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'At The Jazz Band Ball' by these artists:
Bob Crosby Back when a nickel would buy Three finges of pretty good…
Johnny Mercer Back when I make her look by One drink of respectable…
Johnny Mercer And The Pied Pipers feat. Jane Hutton Back when I make her look by One drink of respectable…
Louis Armstrong & Bing Crosby Back when a nickel would buy Three finges of pretty good…
Stokstad-Jensen Trad.Band Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through An' just an old swee…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Wild Bill Davison:
A Blues Blue again Blue again And you know darn well It's you again …
After You've Gone Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
Basin Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take a…
Beale St. Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Beale Street Blues Won't you come along with me To the Mississippi We'll take a…
Begin The Beguine When they begin the beguine It brings back the sound of…
BLACK Cold empty bed, springs hard as lead Pains in my head,…
Black Butterfly You're a black butterfly With your wings frayed and torn, La…
Blue Blue again Blue again And you know darn well It's you again …
Blue Turning Grey Over You Gee, how I miss Your tender kiss, And the wonderful things…
But Beautiful Love is funny or it's sad, Or it's quiet or…
Everything Hapens to Me Black cats creep across my path Until I'm almost mad I mus…
Exactly Like You I used to have a perfect sweetheart Not a real one,…
Ghost Of A Chance I need your love so badly, I love you, oh,…
I Can't Get Started With You Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
I Can't Give You Anything But Love Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid. It's not a…
I Don I need your love so badly, I love you, oh,…
I Want To Be Happy I'm a very ordinary man Trying to work out life's happy…
I'm Confessin That I Love You Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
If I Had You I could show the world how to smile I could be…
It's The Talk Of The Town We were more than lovers, We were more than sweethearts, I…
Keepin' Out of Mischief Now Don't even go to a movie show If you're not by…
Love Is Here To Stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
Mood Indigo You ain't never been blue; no, no, no, You ain't…
On The Alamo Where the moon swings low On the Alamo, In a garden fair…
Our Love Is Here To Stay It's very clear, our love is here to stay Not for…
Prelude To A Kiss If you hear A song in blue Like a flower crying For the…
Riverboat Shuffle All you cotton toters, Mississippi floaters, Gather all ab…
Rose Room I want to take you to a little room A little…
Runnin' Wild My gal and I, we had a fight And I'm…
Serenade In Blue When I hear that Serenade in blue I'm somewhere in another…
She's Funny That Way Once she dressed in silks and lace, Owned a Rolls…
Sleepy Time Blues Homesick tired All alone in a big city Why should…
St. Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
Sweet & Lovely Sweet and lovely Sweeter than the roses in May Sweet and l…
Sweet and Lovely Sweet and lovely Sweeter than the roses in May Sweet and lov…
The Lady Is In Love With You Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
Them There Eyes I was just minding my business Life was a beautiful song Did…
Time After Time Homesick tired All alone in a big city Why should…
When You're Smiling I saw a blind man, He was a kind man, Helping a…
who's sorrow now Who's Sorry Now? Who's Sorry Now? Who's heart is aching for …
Who's Sorry Now? Who's Sorry Now? Who's Sorry Now? Who's heart is aching fo…
Why Was I Born Spending these lonesome evenings With nothing to do But to l…
You Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you! Embrace me, you irrep…
You Are Too Beautiful You are too beautiful, my dear, to be true And I…
You Made Me Love You Yesterday you came my way, And when you smiled at me, In…
You Took Advantage Of Me When a girl has the heart of a mother It must…
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