I. UPDATE ON PATRICK MORGAN AND PAT JOHNSON
II. THE PASSING OF DOCTOR ART DAVIS
I. We have a correction for the address of the Patrick Morgan service on July 11th.
His funeral service will be Saturday, August 11th at 10:00 AM, at the Harrison
Ross Funeral Home located at 4601 S. Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90043.
If you plan to attend, please leave a message at (818) 386-9920.
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PAT JOHNSON CELEBRATION CONCERT
While Pat Johnson’s Funeral Service will be private, there will be a memorial Celebration on August 19th.
A Celebration Concert of Pat Johnson’s life will be held on
Sunday August 19th
starting at 3 pm
The location is Bishop Alemany High School
in the Banquet Room
11111 N. Alemany Drive
Mission Hills, CA.
You can make donations to the “Patricia Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund”. Checks should be made out to:
USC Thornton School of Music
840 W. 34th St.
Music Office 408
Los Angeles, CA 90089.
Condolences can be sent to Tommy and Pat’s daughter Jennifer at:
[email protected]
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II. LA TIMES OBITIARY FOR DR. ART DAVIS
Last week, on August 3rd, we lost a true friend in Dr. Art Davis.
Here is an excerpt from his Obituary in the LA Times.
Art Davis, 73; known for mastery of the bass, also was a psychologist
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Times Staff Writer
August 4, 2007
Art Davis, the renowned double bassist who played with John Coltrane and
other jazz greats, was blacklisted in the 1970s for speaking up about racism
in the music industry, and then later in life earned a doctorate in clinical
psychology and balanced performance dates with appointments to see
patients, has died. He was 73.
Davis, a player whom jazz critic Nat Hentoff once described as “an
astonishing player” and “beyond category,” died of a heart attack
Sunday at his home in Long Beach, said his son Kimaili Davis.
Known for his stunning and complete mastery of the instrument, Davis
was able to genre-hop comfortably. He played with a long and varied
list of artists: Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, John Denver, the trio Peter, Paul and
Mary and Bob Dylan, and was described as Coltrane’s favorite bassist.
Pianist Ahmad Jamal once dubbed Davis the “forgotten genius” because
the outspoken bassist had been blacklisted for many years. Davis’ decision
to take a stand against racism was born of his experiences in music.
With less work coming his way, Davis returned to school and in 1981 earned
a doctorate in clinical psychology from New York University. Davis was
for many years a practicing psychologist while also working as a musician.
“I went up against the big power people and lost 10 years of my life. I feel
vindicated [through his court case], and I wouldn’t be a Dr. Art Davis if it
hadn’t happened,” he told Double Bassist.
As a result of his lawsuit and protest, Davis played a key role in the increased
use of the so-called blind audition, in which musicians are heard but not seen
by those evaluating them, Hentoff said.
The accomplished musician also pioneered a fingering technique for the bass
and wrote “The Arthur Davis System for Double Bass.”
In addition to his son Kimaili of Oak Park, Davis is survived by son Mureithi
Davis of Tustin and daughter Taisha Jack of Culver City. Davis’ wife, Gladys,
died in 1995.
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Until next time,
THE COMMITTEE FOR A MORE RESPONSIBLE LOCAL 47
exw adynamia sta exeahria. me filoxenhse mia filh meta apo xwrismo, enas agaphmenos sta taxidia mou apo to ydatino nhsi sth xwra tou hliou. ta diasxizw ama katevainw me ta podia apo tis theies mou (gkyzh) sto kentro, kai auton ton augousto pou emeina athina timhsa pali ta kafe kai ta cinema. me ta roz gyalia ths metoikou, vlepw ligotero th mizeria tou xwrou, kai perissotero th zwntania(logiko na apeikonizei thn orgh tou ellhna entonotera apo alles perioxes),thn (sygkritika)elleipsh dithen, th zestasia kai th geitonistikh aisthisi. isws paraeimai romantikh. btw, o kabouras sta exeahria thymamai na exei 2 b?