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Billie Davies: Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon
by Roger Farbey
Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon is a heartfelt homage to the artist Serge Vandercam (1924-2005) whose paintings, depicted on the inside CD cover, originally inspired this suite of collaborative improvisations. Initially the inspiration drew from a period of three days of the full moon in 1995 when the artist was influenced by the drummer's playing. For this recording in 2015, following a 20 year gestation period, the painting corresponding to each title was hanging on a ...
Continue ReadingBillie Davies: 12 Volt
by C. Michael Bailey
Drummer Billie Davies' previous recording, All About Love (Self Produced, 2012) was novel and compelling, a trombone trio with the drummer lead. Davies assembled original and standard works, achieving both educational and artistic endpoints. The present recording, 12 Volt, retains the trio format, substituting the guitar for the trombone and pushes the trio envelope out with a moody collection of eight originals, when considered together comprise an avant-garde suite possibly conceived by Grant Green and John Coltrane. ...
Continue ReadingBillie Davies: 12 Volt
by Hrayr Attarian
Belgium native and Los Angeles based drummer Billie Davies continues to forge her own path in the improvised music world. Endowed with an explorative temperament and unique, yet definite swing sense, Davies pays homage to Gypsy musicians on her fourth release as a leader, 12 Volt. Just to be clear, this is not an album reinterpreting guitarist Django Reinhardt's tunes or anyone else's for that matter. It is a cohesive work of bold innovation and free flowing spontaneity ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With Billie Davies
by AAJ Staff
Meet Billie Davies:Drummer and band leader Billie Davies is mostly an autodidact whose natural talent, relentless, explorative spirit, and multifaceted experiences have led to an innovative approach to jazz. With a background in classical and jazz along with a lifetime of musical experiences in jams, performances, recordings, and music production, the listener is treated to jazz inclinations within her ensembles that bristle with cutting-edge freshness. Instrument(s):Drums.Teachers and/or influences?Some of my ...
Continue ReadingBillie Davies: All About Love
by Hrayr Attarian
Idiosyncratic drummer Billie Davies is mostly an autodidact whose natural talent, relentless, explorative spirit and multifaceted experiences have led to an innovative approach to jazz. Her bold individualism is showcased on All About Love, a collaborative effort that has her democratically guiding an unusual, bottom- heavy ensemble with lyrical trombonist Tom Bone Ralls and versatile bassist Oliver Steinberg. Davies creates complex motives and blurs the distinction between melody and rhythm on such pieces as John Coltrane's “Naima" ...
Continue ReadingThe Billie Davies Trio: All About Love
by C. Michael Bailey
Jazz compressed into small places, as it is in drummer Billie Davies' trombone trio, often gives the most unpredictable yet satisfying results. Piano-less trios are nothing new, but one lead by a trombonist, while still being comparable to Sonny Rollins' tenor saxophone trios of the 1950s, certainly is. Trombonist Tom Bone Ralls is careful to fill any space, avoiding the overuse of slurs and glissandos. The collection of originals and standards is largely introspective and influenced by saxophonist John Coltrane's ...
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