Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on May 16th, 1981, John Davis, an enormously talented drummer in the New York scene, tapped on his mothers lap before he could talk or walk. At the age of five he move to Fernandina Beach, Florida and picked up his first pair of drumsticks at the age of six and never looked back. His adolescent career consisted of middle school band and his involvement with the All-County band each of his seven years of school and the All-District band his junior and senior years in high school. His energy and innovative style gave him the opportunity at a young age to obtain gigs on his own around Fernandina Beach as early as his freshman year of high school. As is the case with many musicians, he started playing drums in church, but on frequent occasions, he would be asked to play for other congregations in both Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville. He also became a member of the Cam Ray Quartet for the following five years and worked on other projects, which adds to his versatility. With a bright career ahead of him, Davis attended the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, Florida in 1999.
At UNF, it was the first time he had formal drum training and immediately sought the tutelage of Rick Kirkland, the former drummer for Ray Charles. While there, he quickly rose to the top, becoming a member of the top Big Band in just his second year. The band was awarded the best Big Band in the country of the best Big Band in the country by Downbeat Magazine two years in a row (2002, 2003) and while a member of the band, recorded five albums and performed everywhere from Long Beach to Amsterdam.
In 2004, he received scholarships to attend the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where he began studying under Jazz education legend, John Riley. Since moving to New York he's performed at many prominent venues, including the Zinc Bar, the Jazz Standard, The Blue Note and Dizzy's Coca-Cola. Davis has performed in Atlanta, Georgia with jazz pianist Eric Reed from Wynton Marsalis' Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and traveled to Europe to perform at the United Colors of Benetton's 20th Anniversary in October of 2006.
Since graduating in 2006, Davis has made a name for himself by way of recordings with Medeiros Brothers (Sony Latin, release 2008), performing with piano phenomenon Eric Lewis as well as a tour of Taiwan in December in 2007. It only takes once to see him play to know he has something special and that he's not a fly-by night type performer. He will surely become one of the notable drummers of his generation.
