Orbert Davis
Encyclopedia
Orbert Davis is an American
jazz trumpet
er and bandleader
.
and raised in Momence, Illinois
. He began playing trumpet around the age of ten, but was not formally instructed until Charles Danish, an elementary school teacher, found him a trumpet teacher and drove him to lessons. He eventually graduated with a degree in trumpet performance from DePaul University
and then received a masters degree in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University
.
In addition to recording over 3000 TV and radio
commercial
s, Davis has released three studio albums. His 2002 album Priority received four stars from the LA Times. He currently is very active in music education, particularly for at-risk students
. To this end, he co-founded and directs MusicAlive! (an initiative associated with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, which he also founded and directs).
One of Chicago's busiest and most sought after musicians, jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis has recorded many record projects for such notable artists as Ramsey Lewis, Charles Earland, Kurt Elling, Bob Mamet and William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Winner of the 1995 Cognac Hennessy National Jazz Search, Orbert was chosen as one of Chicago Tribune's "1995 Arts People of the Year" and Chicago Magazine named him "Y2k Best Trumpeter in Chicago".
He performs regularly with various groups under his own name, including his critically acclaimed ensemble "Orbert Davis with Strings Attached". He was featured soloist at the 1996 Chicago Jazz Festival, performing Miles Davis and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain". Orbert's composition, "Concerto for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra" received rave reviews after he premiered it with The Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra in November 1998 at Symphony Center Chicago. In October 1999, along with Jon Faddis and Lester Bowie, Orbert was a featured performer for the Jazz Institute of Chicago's "Tribute to Louis Armstrong: Legacy for the Millennium" where he performed compositions from Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7 recordings. This performance was repeated in August 2001 at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
Davis has performed with Wynton Marsalis, TS Monk, Stevie Wonder, Dr. John, Kurt Elling, Ernie Watts, Ramsey Lewis, Grover Washington Jr. and The Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra.
Along with his partner/manager Mark Ingram, Davis owns and operates ORBARK PRODUCTIONS. Their credits include projects for Atlantic, Capitol, CBS, Epic, MCA and the Warner Brothers record labels. Other projects include arrangements and on-camera performances for feature films such as "A League of Their Own" starring Tom Hanks, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell for Columbia Pictures and "The Babe", starring John Goodman. He recently completed musical arrangements for the upcoming DreamWorks Pictures feature film "Road to Perdition" starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman where he'll also have a cameo appearance.
Davis is currently an Associate Professor of music at the University of Illinois at Chicago
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Biography
Davis was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and raised in Momence, Illinois
Momence, Illinois
Momence is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,063 in 2009. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical...
. He began playing trumpet around the age of ten, but was not formally instructed until Charles Danish, an elementary school teacher, found him a trumpet teacher and drove him to lessons. He eventually graduated with a degree in trumpet performance from DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
and then received a masters degree in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
In addition to recording over 3000 TV and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
s, Davis has released three studio albums. His 2002 album Priority received four stars from the LA Times. He currently is very active in music education, particularly for at-risk students
At-risk students
The term at-risk students is used to describe students who are "at risk" of failing academically, for one or more of any several reasons. The term can be used to describe a wide variety of students, including ones who belong to ethnic minorities, those who are academically disadvantaged, those who...
. To this end, he co-founded and directs MusicAlive! (an initiative associated with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, which he also founded and directs).
One of Chicago's busiest and most sought after musicians, jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis has recorded many record projects for such notable artists as Ramsey Lewis, Charles Earland, Kurt Elling, Bob Mamet and William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Winner of the 1995 Cognac Hennessy National Jazz Search, Orbert was chosen as one of Chicago Tribune's "1995 Arts People of the Year" and Chicago Magazine named him "Y2k Best Trumpeter in Chicago".
He performs regularly with various groups under his own name, including his critically acclaimed ensemble "Orbert Davis with Strings Attached". He was featured soloist at the 1996 Chicago Jazz Festival, performing Miles Davis and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain". Orbert's composition, "Concerto for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra" received rave reviews after he premiered it with The Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra in November 1998 at Symphony Center Chicago. In October 1999, along with Jon Faddis and Lester Bowie, Orbert was a featured performer for the Jazz Institute of Chicago's "Tribute to Louis Armstrong: Legacy for the Millennium" where he performed compositions from Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7 recordings. This performance was repeated in August 2001 at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
Davis has performed with Wynton Marsalis, TS Monk, Stevie Wonder, Dr. John, Kurt Elling, Ernie Watts, Ramsey Lewis, Grover Washington Jr. and The Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra.
Along with his partner/manager Mark Ingram, Davis owns and operates ORBARK PRODUCTIONS. Their credits include projects for Atlantic, Capitol, CBS, Epic, MCA and the Warner Brothers record labels. Other projects include arrangements and on-camera performances for feature films such as "A League of Their Own" starring Tom Hanks, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell for Columbia Pictures and "The Babe", starring John Goodman. He recently completed musical arrangements for the upcoming DreamWorks Pictures feature film "Road to Perdition" starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman where he'll also have a cameo appearance.
Davis is currently an Associate Professor of music at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
.