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Quick Facts
Biography
Kris Davis (born 1980) is a Canadian jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Davis was born in Vancouver in 1980 and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She studied classical piano from the age of six and discovered jazz while a high school student. She transcribed performances by pianists Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett. She later reported that, "By the eighth grade I knew I wanted to be a jazz musician." She later majored in jazz piano at the University of Toronto.
Later life and career
Davis moved to New York in 2001. Her piano style changed after her first album, Lifespan – "I decided not to play chords anymore, just to play lines". She later obtained a classical composition degree from the City College of New York.
In 2009, Davis played solo concerts during a tour of Portugal. She followed this with a solo piano album, Aeriol Piano, which included sections for prepared piano. Her 2014 trio album Waiting for You to Grow was the follow-up to Good Citizen around five years earlier. She commented that, on the earlier release, "I had this concept to make it almost like a pop record, where the tunes are really short [while] on the new record the tunes are much longer and explore multiple areas. I just wanted to write and not have any preconceived ideas".
In 2013, Davis composed a suite for four bass clarinets, guitar, piano, organ and drums. In 2014, Davis had a six-day residency at The Stone in New York City, and played in the UK for the first time. She plans to launch a record label, Pyroclastic Records, in 2016. A new quartet, with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, will play John Zorn compositions in the second half of 2016. She was named 2018 Rising Star – Jazz Artist by DownBeat critics.
Personal life
Davis was formerly married to the drummer Jeff Davis. She married guitarist Nate Radley in 2012 and they had a son in 2013.
Discography
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
As leader/co-leader
Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Lifespan | Fresh Sound | Sextet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax, soprano sax), Russ Johnson (flugelhorn, trumpet), Jason Rigby (tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
2005 | The Slightest Shift | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
2005 | Fiction Avalanche | Clean Feed | As part of the RIDD Quartet; with Jon irabagon (sax), Reuben Radding (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
2007 | Rye Eclipse | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Tony Malaby (tenor sax), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Jeff Davis (drums) |
2008 | Three | Clean Feed | As part of the band SKM; trio, with Stephen Gauci (sax), Michael Bisio (bass) |
2009 | Paradoxical Frog | Clean Feed | As part of the band Paradoxical Frog; trio, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Tyshawn Sorey (drums) |
2009 | Good Citizen | Fresh Sound | Trio, with John Hebert (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
2009 | Aeriol Piano | Clean Feed | Solo piano |
2011 | Union | Clean Feed | As part of the band Paradoxical Frog; trio, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Tyshawn Sorey (drums) |
2012 | Capricorn Climber | Clean Feed | Quintet, with Mat Maneri (viola), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Trevor Dunn (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
2012 | Vermilion Tree | For Tune | As part of the band 3d; trio, with Tomasz Dąbrowski (trumpet, balkan horn), Andrew Drury (drums) |
2012 | Massive Threads | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
2013* | Lark | Skirl | As part of the band Lark; quartet, with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Tom Rainey (drums) |
2013 | Waiting for You to Grow | Clean Feed | Trio, with John Hebert (bass), Tom Rainey (drums) |
2014 | Save Your Breath | Clean Feed | With Joachim Badenhorst, Andrew Bishop, Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega (bass clarinet), Gary Versace (organ), Nate Radley (guitar), Jim Black (drums) |
2016* | Duopoly | Pyroclastic | Duos, with Don Byron (clarinet), Tim Berne (alto sax), Marcus Gilmore (drums), Billy Drummond (drums), Angelica Sanchez (piano), Craig Taborn (piano), Julian Lage (guitar), Bill Frisell (guitar) |
2016 | Octopus | Pyroclastic | Duo, with Craig Taborn (piano) |
2017* | Asteroidea | Intakt | As part of the Borderlands Trio; with Stephan Crump (bass), Eric McPherson (drums) |
2019* | Diatom Ribbons | Pyroclastic | Esperanza Spalding (voice), J.D. Allen (tenor saxophone), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone), Ches Smith (vibraphone), Nels Cline (guitar), Marc Ribot (guitar), Trevor Dunn (electric bass), Val Jeanty (turntable),Terri Lyne Carrington (drums) |
As sidewoman
Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Rocket Engine | What Is This That Stands Before Me? | Loyal |
2008* | Jon Irabagon | Outright! | Innova |
2010* | Jeff Davis | We Sleep Outside | Loyal |
2010* | Ingrid Laubrock | Anti-House | Intakt |
2011* | Kermit Driscoll | Reveille | 19/8 |
2011* | Tony Malaby | Novela | Clean Feed |
2011* | Andrea Wolper | Parallel Lives | Jazzed Media |
2013* | Ingrid Laubrock | Strong Place | Intakt |
2013* | Eric Revis | City of Asylum | Clean Feed |
2016* | Eric Revis | Crowded Solitudes | Clean Feed |
2014* | Michael Musillami | Pride | Playscape |
2014* | Matt Bauder | Nightshades | Clean Feed |
2014* | Tom Rainey | Obbligato | Intakt |
2015* | Ingrid Laubrock | Roulette of the Cradle | Intakt |
2015* | Nick Fraser | Too Many Continents | Clean Feed |
2015* | Devin Gray | Relative Resonance | Skirl |
2017 | Tom Rainey | Float Upstream | Intakt |
2018* | Ingrid Laubrock | Contemporary Chaos Practices | Intakt |
2018 | Winged Serpents | Six Encomiums for Cecil Taylor | Tzadik |