DEBORAH DAVIS AND A FEW GOOD MEN

About the Artist

Deborah Davis, vocalist, is a native of Dallas, Texas. Growing up in a house without a radio, she developed her own singing style, performing in church, local gospel ensembles, school talent shows, beauty contests, at parties, and on commercial jingles. Her school choir director and mentor, Robert Sanders, added her to his weekend jazz gigs. Davis went on to earn her Bachelor of Music Education in vocal studies from North Texas University and an Associate Arts degree in recording and engineering at Cedar Valley College. By the time she graduated, she was a permanent fixture on the Dallas jazz scene. As well as leading her own jazz bands, she opened for artists such as Bobbi Humphrey, Deborah Laws, and Angela Bofill. In 1986, Davis moved to New York. In addition to theater work, she has performed with Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Delfeayo Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Christian McBride, Brian Blade, and many more. She has sung at such venues as The Blue Note, Birdland, Village Vanguard, Sweet Basil, The Five Spot, Tavern on the Green, and The Rainbow Room. In addition to annual tours throughout Europe and Asia, Davis formed her own company, Manhattan Music Design, and her own label, Got My Own Music.

Alvin R. Atkinson, Jr., drummer, became a student of the drum at age eight and has been playing ever since. Highlights include: a performance at the White House for President George W. Bush in 2002, house drummer for the 2002-2003 season of the “Emeril Live” television show on the Food Network, the Kennedy Center’s 2002-2003 Harlem national tour, performances with the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet at Lincoln Center, and a film score entitled A Tale of Two Pizzas with Freddie Cole. In addition to touring and performing with his own group, he appeared with Tom Browne on the Mo’ Jamaica Funk tour, 1996-2001, and with Grammy-nominated Nnenna Freelon on her 2001 Soul Call tour. He created sound effects for the 2002 Kennedy Center production The Red Badge of Courage. Atkinson has been featured in concert with Freddy Redd, Benny Green, Ellis Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Barry Harris, Roy Hargrove, Donald Brown, Steve Wilson, Fred Wesley, Mark Elf, Houston Person, Curtis Fuller, Branford Marsalis, Ray Codrington, Harold Ousley, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Brown, Jr., Ernie Andrews, and Vanessa Rubin.

Amen Saleem, bassist and Washington, D.C. native, took up bass at age 12 and participated in the District of Columbia Youth Orchestra program. He later attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he first encountered jazz under the direction of saxophonist Dave Yarborough and bassist Steve Novacel. With both the D.C. Youth Orchestra and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Saleem honed his classical and jazz musical skills and performed in venues around the world, including the East Coast, Hampton, Montreaux, and North Sea jazz festivals. He received a full scholarship to North Carolina Central University where he performed with the jazz band at the Grady Tate, Montreaux, Carolina, and Vienne jazz festivals, as well as with local musicians. Upon graduating, Saleem returned to D.C. where he played as a sideman and a bandleader. He now resides in Bayside Queens, New York where he is pursuing his M.A. in Music Performance and arranging. Recordings include Schuman Nature with Tom Schuman, A Time for Soul with the Winard Harper Sextet, and Beyond the Horizons and Central Standard Time with the North Carolina University Jazz Emsemble. Saleem appeared at the Kennedy Center as a part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead ensemble in April 2004, and will appear in the KC Jazz Club with the Winard Harper Sextet September 30, 2004.

James Weidman, pianist, has played and recorded with artists as diverse as Max Roach, Woody Herman, Archie Shepp, James Moody, Greg Osby, Slide Hampton, Jay Hoggard, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Gloria Lynne, and Dakota Staton. For five years he was the featured keyboardist for Steve Coleman and the Five Elements and the M-Base Collective, as well as being a part of the Spirit of Life Ensemble that held the Monday night spot at Sweet Basil in New York. Weidman has accompanied vocalists Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson, arranging for the latter’s Blue Skies CD. Since 1992 he has been pianist and musical director for Kevin Mahagony. Recently, he produced singer Ruth Naomi Floyd’s Fan into Flame (their third collaboration). His first album as a leader is People Music (TCB Records), and his upcoming second is titled It’s ‘Bout Time. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Weidman learned to play jazz at the age of seven from his father. By age 13, he was playing organ in his father’s jazz band. After graduating from Youngstown University, he moved to New York and soon found himself playing with Cecil Payne, Harold Ousley, Bobby Watson, and Pepper Adams, before falling in with Steve Coleman. Since 1978, Weidman has collaborated with saxophonist TK Blue. He has performed at the world’s major jazz festivals, including Montreux, Monerey, Newport, North Sea, JVC, and and venues such as Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Blue Note, Sweet Basil, Village Vanguard, Iridium, and Jazz Standard.

Past Performances

September 17, 2004

Deborah Davis and A Few Good Men (Deborah Davis, vocalist; Alvin R. Atkinson, Jr., drummer; Amen Saleem, bassist; James Weidman, pianist) highlighting vocal jazz, kicks off its Kennedy Center / Department of State Jazz Ambassadors tour to South America.

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