Nathan Davis

Who is Nathan Davis?

Nathan Davis is an American hard bop jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and flute. Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Davis is probably best known for his work with Eric Dolphy, Kenny Clarke, Ray Charles, Slide Hampton and Art Blakey.

Nathan traveled extensively around Europe after the war and moved to Paris in 1962. He holds a Ph.D in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and has been a professor of music and director of jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh since 1969, an academic program that he helped to initiate. He is also founder and director of the University of Pittsburgh Annual Jazz Seminar and Concert, the first academic jazz event of its kind in the country. He also helped to found the university's William Robinson Recording Studio as well as establish the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame located in the school's William Pitt Union and the University of Pittsburgh-Sonny Rollins International Jazz Archives. Davis, who retired in 2013 as director of the Jazz Studies Program at Pitt, now has Professor Emeritus status at the university.