Jesse Davis is a true bebopper. His big, soulful sound has been on display on many records over the years. He has been somewhat quiet on the recording front of late but Live at Smalls reminds us what an incredibly melodic improviser he is. He combines the perfect blend of blues and bebop. Although he has an abundance of technique he is not flashy and is one of the true story tellers!

This the latest release in the live at Smalls Live Living Masters series recorded on February 17, 2022. Here's what producer Spike Wilner says about the performance:

It’s amazing to me how little-known Jesse Davis is on our current jazz scene. Some do know his name, though. Musicians from my generation hold him in the highest reverence. He’s been an expatriate for the last 20 years or so living in Italy where he married and created a family, so he hasn’t really been present on the New York scene for some time and only makes occasional appearances in the USA. Jesse was born in New Orleans and first arrived in New York City in the late 1980’s. This was just as the “young-lion” movement was really emerging. To my mind, Jesse was hewn like a colossus from the bedrock of the jazz earth. He has an enormous presence and one that I imagine Charlie Parker had – a certain gravity. A ubiquitous cigarette in his mouth, with a gravelly voice and stern demeanor, Jesse exudes a quiet confidence. Jesse Davis was an old man even when he was a kid. I can’t think of any other jazz musician from my generation that is as authentic as Jesse Davis. Jesse is the real deal.

I first met Jesse in 1989 and we became close friends (a friendship that is still dear to this day). Jesse hired me for his band and took over the Friday and Saturday slot at Augie’s (which is now Smoke, the upper west side jazz room). In those days Augie’s was a filthy dive in a terrible neighborhood. I’d nervously take the train uptown for our gigs and each weekend hang on for dear life. Jesse navigated complex bebop tunes at white-knuckle tempos. Playing that fast was something I had to learn and was thrown into the deep end of the pool. Sometimes the tempo was so fast that I was like a deer in the headlights – just stunned, I couldn’t comp or even play a note. Yet, Jesse believed in me, and we worked together there for more than a year. I can’t think of anyone else currently playing that has the kind of alto sound that Jesse has. He is a master of the horn, a master of rhythm and a master of swing.

However, for all his gruffness and lightning-fast musical reflex, Jesse is really a romantic with an enormous heart. Jesse’s love for the ballad exposes the tenderness in his soul. Jesse never plays ugly or tastelessly. He plays with a heart-felt conviction - 100% of his being in each note. He never lies and never fakes. Everything Jesse plays is real. As a person, he’s the same way. He has no bones about telling someone exactly how he feels about them. He has no problem even getting into a fistfight if need be. Jesse is a truthteller and it’s this quality that I believe has kept him so obscure. He doesn’t play politics and doesn’t self-promote - he just plays the saxophone with grace and beauty. Nobody tells him what to do and no one can really capture him for their own purposes. Jesse makes his own way, plays his own gigs and keeps his music pure.

It is with great personal pleasure that I produced this project for the SmallsLIVE Foundation Living Masters Series. I once again had the opportunity to record with the great veteran rhythm-section of Peter Washington on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. My gratitude is to Cory Weeds and the Cellar Music Group for supporting this project and putting his energy into seeing it to completion. I hope you enjoy this music; it is the result of a lifetime of collaboration.