Becoming with Caroline Davis
Connect with Caroline here: http://www.carolinedavis.org/
Caroline and I had a great time talking about the complexities and beauty of life. Our conversation seemed to wind down many roads but the part that resonated with me is her ability to adapt to change. Singapore, Texas, Chicago, Atlanta and New York, have very little in common except for the fact that Caroline conquered them all.
Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, saxophonist, and educator Caroline Davis now lives in Brooklyn, New York. After making her mark on the Chicago jazz community during her 8-year stint, she moved to New York in 2013, and has proven to be an active leader and side-woman in the national jazz scene.
Bio:
Her debut album, Live Work & Play, was featured on All About Jazz’s best releases, and she was named one of JazzTimes’ Best New Artists in the 2012 Expanded Critics’ Poll. Her second album, Doors: Chicago Storylines, was just released as an audio documentary that uniquely sets stories from Chicago's jazz scene from the 80s and 90s alongside her original music. This year, she was named one of DownBeat’s rising stars in the alto saxophone category.
She has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Matt Wilson, Ellis Marsalis, Matt Mitchell, Randy Brecker, Ron Perrillo, Victor Goines, Bobby Broom, Greg Saunier, Ron Miles, Dennis Carroll, Jeff Parker, Dan Weiss, Erin McKeown, Allison Miller, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Billy Kaye. Aside from her own quintet, she collaborates regularly with R&B indie band, Maitri, and has been a regular member of many outfits including Whirlpool, Fatbook, Charles Rumback Group, Deep Fayed, Matt Mitchell’s Sprees, Billy Kaye Quintet, Paul Bedal Quintet, Orso, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Caili O’Doherty Group, Dion Kerr Group, Elliot Ross, and Materials and Their Destiny.
As an educator, Caroline brings her unique knowledge of music and psychology to her teaching, as she acquired a Ph.D. in Music Cognition at Northwestern University in 2010. She has been on the faculty at Litchfield Jazz Camp for the past 10 years, and has been a guest educator at Stanford Jazz Workshop, Birch Creek Music Center, Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, St. Xavier University, Columbia College, DePaul University, University of Texas at Arlington, Loyola University, Texas Tech, New Trier High School, Evanston Township High School, Denver School of the Arts, Newman Smith High School, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She has also participated in several jazz mentorship programs, including IAJE’s Sisters in Jazz and the Kennedy Center’s Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program.