Bob Mover & Walter Davis Jr.
Biography Bob Mover & Walter Davis Jr.
Bob Mover
has attracted generations of listeners with his versatility, emotional depth and technical command on alto, tenor and soprano saxophones. Through his sideman stints with such legends as Chet Baker, Charles Mingus and Jaki Byard, and his work as a leader since the mid-’70s, Mover has attained the highest level of individuality and authority on his instruments – not just mastering the saxophone lineage but also claiming a place of honor within it.
Born in Boston, Mover relocated to Florida at age 12 and took up the horn the following year. At the age of 13, Mover came under the influence of Ira Sullivan, who he remains close friends with to this day. After leaving high school at the age of 17 to pursue his career, Mover bypassed a more traditional route of attending a music conservatory or arts-focused school. Instead, he studied with highly regarded jazz veterans such as Phil Woods, Al Cohn, and Richie Kamuca. While still a teenager, Mover had already sat in at the old Half Note in New York with the likes of Roy Eldridge, James Moody, and Zoot Sims, and others.
Walter Davis Jr.
An often remarkable and inventive bebop and hard bop pianist, Walter Davis Jr. once left the music world to be a tailor, but returned. A solid soloist, bandleader, and accompanist, he amassed a good body of work while never becoming a high-profile name even within the jazz community. Davis played with Babs Gonzales’ Three Bips & a Bop as a teen, then moved from Richmond to New York in the early ’50s. He played with Max Roach and Charlie Parker, recording with Roach in 1953. He joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band in 1956, and toured the Middle East and South America. He also played in Paris with Donald Byrd in 1958 and with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in 1959. After retiring from music for a while to run his tailor shop, Davis returned in the ’60s, producing records and writing arrangements for a local New Jersey group. He studied music in India in 1969, and played with Sonny Rollins in the early ’70s. Davis had another stint with the Jazz Messengers in 1975, then led his own group in New York. Davis recorded for Blue Note, Mapleshade, Debut, Denon, and Red and for various French labels. He did sessions with Roach, Rollins, Sonny Criss, Jackie McLean, Pierre Michelot, Archie Shepp, Kenny Clarke, Byrd, and Blakey, among others.
