I need sugar in my bowl I want my lover, y'all To come home >> Music is conversation. And I need to breathe Sometimes >> It's built on collaboration. And I've said it all >> Carried on by the relationship of a teacher and a student. Oh, I be the Blues woman Hey, I be the Blues woman >> And on both sides of that education equation is bassist, Richard Davis. To be released >> Richard grew up in Chicago, learning from the records of Jazz greats. >> I listened to Duke Ellington's band like my life depended on it. It's because of this bass player named Jimmy Blanton was on the recordings. I was so enthralled by his sound. It was so warm. >> But it took flesh and bone teachers to turn Richard's love for music into his lifelong work. >> I had one of the greatest music teachers ever in life, a high school band director named Walter Dyet. He'd give you lots of wisdom, but he was tough. He'd scare you half to death. And 20 years after I graduated, he'd still called me up and gave me assignments. I'm 38 years old. "Hi Richard, this is Dyet." "Yes, sir." "I want you to read such-and-such a book." "Yes, sir." Man, that's love there. >> After high school Richard continued to study and play, first in Chicago, then New York City. The music took center stage. >> I would sleep while I was playing. Yeah, I had a busy schedule. Some people thought I was into dope to be able to keep up with that kind of schedule, but to me it was just doing it. I was high off the music. >> Playing provided its own education. >> I learned "Cherokee" in one key, and it was my chance to show off a little bit. I jumped on the bandstand and this saxophone player said, "What you want to play Richard?" "Cherokee!" I'm ready now. He said, "Okay." I actually took the bass outta the bass player's hands. We start playing "Cherokee" and I realized that the bass wasn't quite in tune. Then I realized they were playing in non-standard key. I couldn't play that. So when the song was over he said, "What else do you want to play?" "Nothing." That taught me to tell my students to learn it in all keys. Somebody is near, dear It must be >> In the late '50s Richard got a call, admission into what he calls the University of Sarah Vaughan. >> Jimmy Jones on the piano, Roy Haynes on the drums, and Sarah Vaughan on the vocals. Just the way she would shape notes, express notes-- I was the least experienced in the group, so everything I did was learning from listening. >> There were other teachers too. Richard played with groups like the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band with players like Eric Dolphy, J.J. Johnson and Miles Davis, and under the direction of classical composers like Igor Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein.
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>> But in 1977 Richard decided it was time to share what he knew and to do some teaching of his own. >> I always wanted to live in the country. So I came here. It was like saying, Oh, there it is.
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>> He moved from New York City to southern Wisconsin taking a position at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. >> What I try to do is not tell them anything at first when I give them an assignment to see what they come up with. I think I got this from my high school teacher, because he made you want to know. He took a chance. Speaking of happiness Why did it have to go? >> After almost 40 years Richard still teaches, working with groups like the university's Black Music Ensemble.
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>> I have a question. Is there any way you could insert E.J? He doesn't have a separate part, right? >> -- lay down that bass line that their doing, just vocally, so it's underneath. >> But I want this combination of male/female voice at least for two bars. Do it as a concert. Bring him in, he's a nice guy. He's good at improvising. >> Richard teaches more than music. He also works with students and professors to make the campus more diverse. >> We have a lot of work yet to do at the university in a sense of diversity. I take that on as my personal responsibility, to make sure that the music school, and any other department in the university is using diversity with meaningful results. And when morning come >> Whether it's how to make music or how to build community, Richard says it's his students who will carry on the lessons he's learned. >> That's why I like being around young people, passing on a legacy. They're the messengers. And I've said it all before Oh, I be the Blues woman Yeah, I be the Blues woman
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