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MAXWELL DAVIS
(1916 - 1970)

M axw ell Davis was one of the architects of the West Coast R & B sound. During the late forties and
into the fifties, he had a large impact on the musical scene through his numerous roles as a Saxo-
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phonist, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, producer, and A & R man (mainly working for the Modern and
A laddin record labels).

Raised in Kansas, by the time Maxw ell Davis was a teenager he had discovered jazz and was deeply
influenced by Coleman Haw kins. In 1937, he moved to Los Angeles and landed a gig w ith the Fletcher
Henderson Orchestra. Soon afterwards, he found work arranging songs and producing sessions for B.B.
King, T-Bone Walker, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brow n, Z .Z . H ill, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and Lo w ell
Fulson. Combining his love of jazz and blues, he created a formula that utilized a swinging rhythm sec-
tion and a big band-style horn section to backup a strong blues-based frontman, usually a guitar player.
His influence was soon heard in the music of Percy Mayfield, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Floyd Dixo n.

Maxw ell Davis penned "Bad, Bad, Whisky," one of boogie-woogie piano player A mos Milburn's
biggest hits. Davis released dozens of song titles under his ow n name, but only the song "Slow W alk" met
w ith any success. W ith the rise of self-contained rock & roll bands in the sixties, Davis faded from the
musical scene.

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speaking:

Maxw ell Davis had a big, warm, smoky sound. Influenced by Co leman Haw kins and Ben Webster,
his blues/ West Coast R& B was infused w ith swing.

Here is a medium-tempo West Coast blues in the style of guitarist T-Bone Walker. Very relaxed in
style, Davis' phrasing is constantly behind the beat. The entire first chorus is built from the motif of the
first three notes. Measures A I , A 2, A 6, A 8, and A l O are all developed from the same three-note intro.
A chromatic run leads us into the second chorus, w hich is mainly played on the G minor pentatonic
scale ( G - Bt' - C - D l^ - F) . This is a good example of taking a simple idea and expanding upon it ("telling
a Story"). The solo comes to a climax in the middle of the second chorus, then winds back down. Notice
how the first chorus has a major sound and the second chorus is more minor or bluesy. This contrast helps
build the solo and give the listener the sense of the soloist digging in.