#Tonight (1-19-18) 8PM BILLIE DAVIES trio at The Frenchmen Hotel Rooftop Bar

Tonight (01/19/18) 8pm - 11pm

Halfway To The Blood Moon

concert under the stars

Hosted by Portal

The Frenchmen Hotel Rooftop Bar

417 Frenchman Street

New Orleans

Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’ – Skope Entertainment Inc

Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’ – Skope Entertainment Inc

Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’
by Admin • December 19, 2016

“On Hollywood Boulevard” is a glamorous, gorgeous mixture of jazz and funk displaying Billie Davies’s deft skill. Luxurious textures dominate the collection as Billie Davies draws from a wide variety of sources. Everything simply glistens as the attention to tone and texture are of the utmost importance. Bass works wonders alongside the rather loose, careful rhythms that adorn the album. Mood serves an important function as Billie Davies explore vast terrains, oftentimes delving into surreal, otherworldly soundscapes.

Things start off on an impassioned note with the phenomenal opener “On Hollywood Boulevard 1”. With almost a noir take on jazz, the mysterious shadowy nature of the piece results something deeply compelling. Vocals accompany the laid-back attitude of “The Girl In The Window”. Delivered with a sultry sensibility, the way the song builds itself up is quite wonderful as the song unfurls in a rather celebratory spirit. Careful grooves define the ritualistic work of “Jacaronda”. Some of the detail, such as the tactile percussion, gives the song a quiet intimate feeling. Funk dominates over the spirited performance, as the synthesizer sweeps give the song a chilled hue to it. Electronics and jazz come together on the narrative of “Hollywood Boulevard” where its hip-hop structure adds to the song’s cache. Returning to the album’s beginnings in jazz is the spacious sprawl of “On Hollywood Boulevard 2”.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/on-hollywood-boulevard/id1174033049

Billie Davies offers a cool confident update on jazz with the playful nature of “On Hollywood Boulevard”.

http://www.billiedavies.com/

By – beachsloth.com

Billie Davies - Dec 10 Release of Her Nu Experience - "On Hollywood Boulevard"

On JazzCorner.com News

http://www.jazzcorner.com/news/display.php?news=7681

- A Nu Experience! -

An Electrifying Musical Adventure

- December 10 Release Date! -

CD Release party at The Prime Example, New Orleans.

Dec. 8th, 2016 - 8 PM

- "On Hollywood Boulevard" -

- BILLIE DAVIES -

Since recording, releasing and performing "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon" as an ode to the work of her dearest friend, Belgian artist Serge Vandercam (1924 - 2005), and performing with Billie & The Bad Boyzzzz and the Billie Davies Trio in 2015- 2016 it slowly became time for her new album project "On Hollywood Boulevard", for which Billie wrote the melodies and lyrics, to become a reality.
After 20 years of playing, producing and releasing instrumental jazz, Billie Davies is turning a page and is bringing us a Nu Vocal and Electric Experience, "On Hollywood Boulevard".

"On Hollywood Boulevard" was born while Billie Davies lived at 6533 Hollywood Blvd. at The Historic Hillview Hollywood in Hollywood, Los Angeles. She lived there for several years and her many experiences in and impressions of Hollywood Boulevard resulted in a recorded album of 5 songs that Billie Davies wrote melodies and lyrics for and 2 improvisations of which one has improvised lyrics by IRIS P.. It took from 2012 in Hollywood, the initial conception, to September of 2016 in New Orleans for the album to become a reality.
Billie and her husband/producer Mike Davies chose Evan Oberla, with whom she has recorded and performed since February of 2015, on keys/synth and trombone and Oliver Watkinson, who became her bass player in the summer of 2015, on electric bass. Billie Davies met IRIS P through an introduction by Evan Oberla, during one of their performances at The Dragon's Den, and was rejoiced to find the perfect vocalist, the perfect chemistry, to record and perform the "On Hollywood Boulevard" lyrics and experience.




Read more here:  http://www.jazzcorner.com/news/display.php?news=7681

Hollywood Boulevard (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience

BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Hollywood Boulevard (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement

Palm Trees (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience

BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Palm Trees (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement

Jacaranda 2 (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience

BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Jacaranda 2 (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement

Billie Davies Projects: The Billie Davies Trio and BILLIE & The Bad Boyzzzz, jazz bands in New Orleans.

Billie Davies Projects: BILLIE DAVIES trio and BILLIE & The Bad Boyzzzz, New Orleans.

BILLIE DAVIES trio

BILLIE & The Bad Boyzzzz

Free MP3 at All About Jazz: “v. The Shark In The Hand” by Billie Davies

Free MP3 at All About Jazz: “v. The Shark In The Hand” by Billie Davies

From The Album

Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon
By Billie Davies

'Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon' - Drummer Billie Davies With Art Inspired By Music, Music Inspired By Art!

'Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon' - Drummer Billie Davies With Art Inspired By Music, Music Inspired By Art!

New CD by BILLIE DAVIES, "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon", available October 1, 2015

MEDIA: Billie Davies Hand In The Hand OneSheet | About Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon | The Paintings | Project Photos

HAND IN HAND IN THE HAND OF THE MOON BILLIE DAVIES An homage to Serge Vandercam (Copenhagen, Denmark, 1924 - Wavre, Belgium, March 10, 2005). A symphony inspired by paintings by Serge Vandercam and drums by Billie Davies (Brugge, Belgium, 1955). The painter influenced by the drummer and the drummer influenced by the painter over a period of three days of the full moon. A collaborative work, conceived in 1995 resulting 20 years later in a series of 8 paintings and a jazz symphony of 8 musical movements. "You would have loved where I was at, Serge, between the Rocks, the Dirt, the Coyotes, the Eagles, the Mountain Lions, the Road Runners, the Rattle Snakes. You would have loved where I am at, Serge, in the heat of New Orleans with the Banana trees, the Gators, the Water Moccasins, the Egrets, the Hawks, the Pelicans and the Swamps, the Bayous and the Music and the Sun and the Moon and the Birds. Serge, this Music has been made with You in mind... You, Me, then, Painting and Drums, and now Music inspired by these paintings ... a Symphony to You and to Thalia. A symphony to the Magic in fine Art A symphony to Nature. A symphony to the Bird with the Wish that People listen to Mother Nature People listen to the Bird." Billie Davies One has to give that justice to art, That it brings proof that nothing functions. It establishes that there is no use, Not for the universe, Not for religion. It's flagrant uselessness makes one discover that something, Of which no-one gave much thought, Suddenly becomes essential. (Francois Jaqmin. Translated from French by Billie Davies.)

THE ALBUM  ARTISTIC INTEGRITY SPIRITUALISM IN ART PASSION CREATIVE EXPRESSION INTEGRITY PRIDE ORIGINALITY DEFINITION INTUITION INSTINCT Conversation rather then Technique - The Movements - prelude. Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon - 7:26 i. Hand In Hand - 7:02 ii. In The Hand Of The Moon - 7:27 iii. Hand In The Hand In The Hand Of The Moon, Listen To The Bird - 7:59 iv. As She Tells - 7:10 v. The Shark In The Hand - 4:40 vi. Tiburon - 8:36 vii. The Bridge - 9:08 This music was recorded live in one take on an afternoon in April with all musicians in one 600 Square Feet room that was acoustically treated. A slide show was playing photos that were taken during the painting/drumming session in 1995 and other photos of Serge Vandercam and Billie Davies. For each movement the corresponding actual painting was hanging on a wall, visible to all musicians, in bright light. - The Paintings - 7 movement paintings were painted by Serge Vandercam (1924, Denmark - 2005 Belgium) in February of 1995 as a collaborative improvisational work inspired by drums played by Billie Davies during the three days of the full moon. The prelude painting was painted by Billie Davies in 1995.The Art on the CD cover was painted by Billie Davies in 1996. - The Musicians - Alex Blaine on tenor sax, Branden Lewis on trumpet, Evan Oberla on trombone Billie Davies on drums, Ed Strohsahl on upright bass - The Recording - Recorded Live in New Orleans by Mike Davies on April 24, 2015 at the 415 Blossom Street Studio. Mixing by Mike Davies. Mastering by John Vestman. Produced by Mike Davies. - Press & Booking Contact - Publicist: Scott Thompson http://www.scottthompsonpr.com - Bandleader: Billie Davies - New Orleans, LA - Tel: (+1) 310.467.2061 | Email: Billie@BillieDavies.com Website: http://www.BillieDavies.com | Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Davies

|  |  |  | |

Happy New Year 2015

Wishing you a very, very Happy New Year 2015

full of Love, Peace and Happiness.

''Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun does move, But never doubt I Love You ...''

Love always,

Billie Davies
~ A Jazz Musician ~

New Orleans, LA
Tel: (+1) 310.467.2061
Email: Billie@BillieDavies.com
on the Web:
Website: http://www.BillieDavies.com
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Davies
Press Kit: http://www.reverbnation.com/rpk/billiedavies
Blog: http://BillieDavies.blogspot.com
Like her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BillieDaviesJazz
Fan her on AllAboutJazz: http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=43171
Follow her on Twitter: @BillieDavies
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UTN15vKwac&feature=share&list=UU8A-rTV0D0DeDFpqQczycew
Buy Billie Davies Music:
at CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/billiedavies - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thebilliedaviestrio
on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/billie-davies/id532658143
at Reverbnation: http://www.Reverbnation.com/BillieDavies

Award Winning, Belgium Born Jazz Drummer Leaves Career in California for a Career in New Orleans!

PRESS RELEASE

Award Winning, Belgium Born Jazz Drummer Leaves Career in California for a Career in New Orleans!

Billie Davies (born Billie Goegebeur, December 10, 1955 in Bruges) is an American female jazz drummer and composer best known for her Avant-garde jazz compositions, as well as her improvisational drumming techniques which she has performed in Europe and in the US since the mid-nineties.

Billie and her, recording/producer husband, Mike, moved to New Orleans this last March to achieve her dream of being a New Orleans based musician.  She has been working with local, like-minded sidemen, Shan Kenner on guitar and Pete Olynciw on upright bass to form her New Orleans Ensemble.  They have created a suite of new music entitled Downman Road.

Her 2012 release of “all about Love” solidified her position as a professional jazz musician.  This recording of standards and original music, charted #1 in CMJ Jazz College Radio Charts for ‘top jazz add’ in new albums and went on to stay there for 4 weeks.  “all about Love” was also very well received in Canada where the album ended up in the Top 10 on three different! Earshot Jazz charts.

In October, 2013 Billie released “12 VOLT” which also garnered national and international attention. CJ Bond, JAZZ MUSIC (an online jazz journal), wrote the following… “12 VOLT” features exclusively original compositions of Billie Davies, revealing yet another formidable creative talent in Davies' impressive artistic arsenal; making this an important CD for Davies, since it adds the crucial tyne of 'composer/arranger' to her sterling artistic fork, augmenting fearless innovation, and superlative drumming technique as well. 

In September of 2013, Billie Davies was nominated for the top Jazz Artist award from the 23^rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards; she received the award on November 14.  Five months later she moved to New Orleans and is now ready to present her show to the New Orleans audience.

Her guitar player on “12 VOLT,” Daniel Goffeng, describes Billie as …bringing something radically new to the idiom of modern jazz in various ways which, in its purest essence, incorporates everything in its collective subconscious amalgam that has come before. Billie Davies' music is unapologetically moving in the direction of “true art” and plays with colors, moods, movements, feelings and interactions, a paradoxically more advanced concept of expression...

S. Victor Aaron tells us that "Davies is not countering the modern jazz movement so much but rather stripping it down to its essence. When listening to Davies play, it’s easier to think of her not as a drummer but a tonal painter who swipes brushstrokes with her drumsticks."

l-r: Gary Washington- bass, Billie Davies- drums, Shan Kenner- guitar.

We are looking for any and all opportunities to help promote her New Orleans debut and to officially introduce her to New Orleans’ music scene. 

For more information about Billie Davies, her music, and more reviews, please check her out by   following this link for Billie Davies Website.  To schedule appointments for interviews, please contact Glinda Mantle at 504-453-5533 or via email at glinda.mantle@gmail.com. 

Thank you.

Happy New Year 2014

BILLIE DAVIES

Hi , YES! Billie let her hair be long again...!!! She finds herself more beautiful to look at in the mirror. She likes herself that way so much better. And she hopes that you will too... To end the year 2013 the BILLIE DAVIES Ensemble, with Daniel Coffeng on guitar and Jacob Bartfield on upright bass, had a wonderful performance at NOLA's in downtown Los Angeles. Videos of this performance will be released soon... BILLIE DAVIES received the 2013 23rd Annual LAMA "JAZZ ARTIST" Award on 11/14/2013 at the AVALON in Hollywood. "12 VOLT" A NEW CD release by Jazz and Avant Garde drummer BILLIE DAVIES. "The organic essence of improvisational music. The evocative manipulation of sound and silence into a living breathing microcosm of emotion and spontaneous creativity." Brent Black / www.bop-n-jazz.com Love & Peace, Billie Davies.

BILLIE DAVIES at NOLA's

BILLIE DAVIES at NOLA's

BILLIE DAVIES Ensemble
http://www.billiedavies.com/BillieDavies_Ensembles.html
Billie Davies: drums. Daniel Coffeng: guitar. Will Mack: bass.
Performance at:
Nola's - A Taste of New Orleans
Doors open at 5 pm
Performance Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00pm
Address:
734 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Neighborhood:
Downtown L.A.

Full Details: http://nolasla.com/billie-davies-group/

 

Billie Davies walking the red carpet of the 23rd Annual LA Music Awards with Mike Davies 

to receive the 2013 "Jazz Artist" award.

Billie Davies: 12 Volt (2013) By C. MICHAEL BAILEY,

Billie Davies: 12 Volt (2013)

By

C. MICHAEL BAILEY,

Published: November 22, 2013

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.

This music is most comparable to Jimmy Giuffre's 1960s trios exploring free jazz using three independent instruments probing jazz's three-dimensional space. Davies directs a very similar interrogation of spatial sound dependence and independent of time. "Collioure" is based on a descending chordal guitar figure, simple and unadorned with brief drum and arco bass support. Guitarist Daniel Coffeng sparsely solos, extending the opening theme. The title piece is a rolicking jam with all instruments hitting their mark. Davies carefully cultivates her cymbals while bassist Adam Levy provides the harmonic roadmap and time over which Coffeng solos most robustly.

"Les Landes" is a good representation of the disc as a whole, an anxious piece with many corners and edges to navigate. Davie's challenge to her bandmates is to glide as smoothly as possible about these corners while she stirs the water with her persistent and restless drumming. The mood is dreamy and slightly soporous, a child of Morpheus and honey, preparing a bed of experiences for the listener.

Track Listing: Collioure; Meeting Manitas; 12 Volt; Les Landes; Tango for Patti; Grapes, Plums and Tomatoes; Gypsy; La Sieste.
Personnel: Billie Davies: drums; Daniel Coffeng: guitar; Adam Levy: bass.
Record Label: Cobra Basement
Style: Beyond Jazz

Dr. Will Smith's Playlist: Review (Avant Garde): “12 Volt” - Billie Davies

Dr. Will Smith's Playlist: Review (Avant Garde): “12 Volt” - Billie Davies:

Review (Avant Garde): “12 Volt” - Billie Davies

Billie Davies has an interesting story.  Her travels have led her to many places.  She began her journey in Belgium and grew up singing, writing, and eventually playing drums at the age of 14.  After several awards for her artistic creations, she became a DJ at 23 and played in clubs in Germany and Belgium.  It was at this time she was offered a grant to study at Berklee College of Music under Max Roach after he heard her audition tape.  He felt that she “could learn more fundamental drumming techniques” but he heard “the natural drummer” in her. 

She declined the move to the US at that time but became a professional drummer at 25 citing Al Foster, Billy Higgins, Billy Cobham, Jack De Johnette, Ed Thigpen, and Peter Erskine as her biggest influences.

After moving to the US at 32 she settled in Los Angeles, California and became a US Citizen.  She recorded with several artists and began to compose music for her own release.  Her latest project “12 Volt” was recorded in April 2013 and released in October.  It features Daniel Coffeng on Guitar and Adam Levy on Bass.

The pieces on the album are inspired by her life in the wine regions of France where she lived amongst gypsies.  The title comes from the 12 volt battery that ran everything electric in the RV where she stayed with local blues jazz guitarist Claude Mazet.  She remembers her life among the gypsies and her life in the south of Europe fondly and “It is that bohemian life, that close to nature life... so close that all the music…everything else you do or think becomes….a reflection of it.”

The first selection on the album is reminiscent of Miles Davis’ electric period of the 70s.  There are several themes that are stated initially, these are followed by the improvisation section which brings in ideas from the themes that were presented. The piece ends on the same thematic material that it began with.  There are some nice dynamic changes in the music and Ms. Davies creates some pleasant colors with her cymbal work.  Daniel Coffeng has ample chops to play a variety of styles and his technique ties the variety of ideas together. 

Her style is definitely of the avant garde school of jazz which seeks to go beyond the boundaries of the standard elements of music.  We are taught that the elements of music: rhythm, harmony, melody and form, are the key foundational elements of music.   Well what happens if you remove these elements can you still call it music? Is it possible to remove them completely?  This is the debate that has been going on in the jazz community since Ornette Coleman released Free Jazz in 1960.  

Ms. Davies is adding her take on that conversation and she brings an interesting offering to the table with her composition “12 Volt.”   Give it a listen and let us know what you think.

You can listen to her work here:

http://www.reverbnation.com/billiedavies

Press, Reviews and Accolades for avant garde jazz drummer Billie Davies

Press, Reviews and Accolades for avant garde jazz drummer Billie Davies 

BILLIE DAVIES is a recipient of the 2013 23rd Annual Los Angeles, California  LA Music Awards
"JAZZ ARTIST" Award. 11/14/2013.

Billie Davies: 12 VOLT

Billie Davies Trio: 12 Volt

Billie Davies Trio: 12 Volt (2013)

By

HRAYR ATTARIAN,

Published: October 29, 2013

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

Django Reinhardt
1910 - 1953
guitar

's tunes or anyone else's for that matter. It is a cohesive work of bold innovation and free flowing spontaneity in tribute to the unfettered spirit of those individuals. The title track, for instance, opens with Davies' thundering cascade of beats that fall like refreshing rain over guitarist Daniel Coffeng's earthy, slow simmering, chords. Her restless polyrhythms, tempered by the intricately textured, sublime timbres drive Coffeng's electrifying, fiery improvisation along bassist Adam Levy's densely woven rhythmic trails.

One of the thematic threads of the disc is a superb balance of cerebral creativity and a raw, visceral fervor. The passionate "Tango for Patti" is a dramatic piece filled with thrilling harmonic structures and a subtle and effusive assonance. Coffeng's crisp guitar's logical progression echoes over Davies' ardent, sensual rumble and Levy's delightfully angular, percussive bass lines.

The intelligent, spur of the moment extemporizations maintain throughout a definite melodicism. The bluesy "Gypsy" features Coffeng's soulful and mellifluous strings against Levy's agile walking bass and Davies' rocking drums in an enchanting and though provoking three-way dance. The closer, "La Sieste," meanwhile, is an ethereal and fantastical composition with gorgeously elegiac tones. Davies' dexterous alternation of whispering brushes and tapping sticks, peppered with silent pauses, creates a hypnotic ambience filled with Coffeng's quietly poetic phrasing.

As evidenced on this uniformly intriguing disc Davies thrives in the sparse, collaborative setting of the trio. Throughout her recorded legacy, her partners have changed but her artistic imagination and her inspired ingenuity have solidified and matured. The result is a stimulating, original and singularly satisfying oeuvre that, hopefully, will continue to expand and evolve.  

Track Listing: Collioure; Meeting Manitas; 12 Volt; Les Landes; Tango for Patti; Grapes, Plums and Tomatoes; Gypsy; La Sieste.
Personnel: Billie Davies: drums; Daniel Coffeng: guitar; Adam Levy: bass.
Record Label: Cobra Basement
Style: Beyond Jazz

Something Else! Reviews: Billie Davies – 12 Volt (2013) Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron.

Jazz, Uncategorized — October 2, 2013 at 9:00 am

Billie Davies – 12 Volt (2013)

by S. Victor Aaron

The 23rd Annual L.A. Music Awards has recently nominated drummer and bandleader Davies as “Jazz Artist of the Year” for 2013, a mere four years after she set up shop in Los Angeles and made it her home. But this bohemian from Belgium has quickly made positive impressions everywhere she goes, including this reviewer when sizing up her third album all about Love a year ago.
For album #4 12 Volt, Davies assembled a new trio to go along with her new songs, in which she constructed around a concept of simplicity and being closer to nature. In this case, being closer to nature meant deconstructing jazz to its base components. The liner notes for Billie Davies’ upcoming album went into the detail of what makes the jazz of this drummer stand out from the herd, but one sentence seemed to sum it up nicely: “Davies is not countering the modern jazz movement so much but rather stripping it down to its essence.”
Moving on from the trumpet/bass/drums configuration of Love, Davies enlisted Amsterdam guitarist Daniel Coffeng and acoustic bassist Adam Levy to make this album live in the studio in a single day. That’s an approach that has fostered simplicity and natural playing. The airy, free flowing way these songs are played are like that, too. Take the opening cut, “Collioure,” an esoteric melody that moves at a naturally occurring cadence. Davis is making melody right alongside Coffeng, and Levy’s arco bass provides a well-defined harmonic counterpoint. The second part of song descends and ascends, Davies soloing while closely following Coffeng’s moves. With such attention to timbre, space and mood, it’s easy to forget that much of the music here and on the rest of the album is dissonant, because it’s avant-garde in a very embraceable way.
When listening to Davies play, it’s easier to think of her not as a drummer but a tonal painter who swipes brushstrokes with her drumsticks. “Collioure” is a prime example, and also in her subtly guiding ever so incremental changes in intonation on songs such as “Tango for Patti” as well as confidently leading the group through a deconstructed section within “Les Landes.” On angular blues such as “!2 Volt” and “Grapes, Plums and Tomatoes” she swings authoritatively without ever having to resort to brute force.
Coffeng employs the pillowy, sweet tones of Jim Hall, and he demonstrates nifty single note run skills during a solo on “Gypsy.” But his economy of notes is perhaps his greatest asset for this session; it fits in fine with the “less is more” mantra Davies champions and allows her and Levy to be heard as equals. The songs generally follow the head-solos-head format, but the extended solo sections are allowed so much freedom, whole other songs are nearly created between the heads; the group members typically improvise as a unit.
It’s some honor for Billie Davies to be considered for the top jazz musician award in a big musical and cultural center such as Los Angeles, but that the institution pays close attention to the likes of her speaks well for their recognition of outlier talent. And 12 Volt can’t help but to strengthen Davies’ chances for winning it.
12 Volt is due out later this week on CDBaby. Visit Billie Davies’ website for more info.