“PARIS-PITTSBURGH: A STORY IN JAZZ--THE LIFE OF...

“PARIS-PITTSBURGH: A STORY IN JAZZ--THE LIFE OF NATHAN DAVIS”

By Gisela Albus and Nathan Davis

Gaia Text ($30)

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This is essentially an autobiography of Davis, a first-rate tenor saxophonist and a noted educator who is better known in Europe than in American jazz circles.

After a long expatriation, he returned to the United States in 1969 to take up a post as director of jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh. This position was a source of special gratification, for Davis came up at a time when jazz was taboo at all educational levels: In his freshman year at the University of Kansas, he was not allowed to major in saxophone.

He surmounted this obstacle, gained a bachelor’s in music education and, after military service with an Army band in Berlin, decided to remain in Europe. He thrived there, leading his own small groups and playing with the renowned Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland big band.

Davis draws a colorful picture of Europe in the 1960s and of the difficulties he later faced dealing with jazz-hating members of the faculty at Pittsburgh.

The book’s format is unorthodox. Studded with quotes from numerous sources, mostly critics, it requires constant reference to the index at the back to find out who is speaking. Moreover, though the main text is in English, several quoted passages are in German without translation. The basic story, nevertheless, comes across vividly; Davis has good recall and has been in many of the right places at the right times.

Hard to find in the United States, “Paris-Pittsburgh” can be obtained from Gaia Text, c/o Evelyn Dusterwald, 654 Maryland Ave., Apt. 6R, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15232.