Maxwell Davis

Thomas Maxwell Davis Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and record producer.

Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas, in 1916. In 1937, he moved to Los Angeles, California, playing saxophone in the Fletcher Henderson orchestra. After some years playing swing and jazz, he became more involved in the West Coast R&B scene in the mid-1940s, becoming a regular session musician and arranger for the fast-growing independent record labels such as Aladdin. He also recorded with the Jay McShann band, featuring Jimmy Witherspoon, a blues shouter. He was hired to play the soundtrack for the saxophonist part acted by Big Jay McNeely in the 1950 noir film D.O.A. By 1952, Davis had played on numerous R&B hits by Percy Mayfield, Peppermint Harris, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, and others. He also arranged and played on Little Willie Littlefield's 1952 "K. C. Lovin' for Federal Records.

In 1955, he left Aladdin and joined the Bihari brothers at Modern Records (and its subsidiaries RPM, Crown, and Kent) as musical director and a producer. Although his success rate started to diminish thereafter,

His final recording activity was in 1969, as the producer of the soul singer Z. Z. Hill.

Davis died from a heart attack, in Los Angeles, California, in September 1970.

Discography As sideman With B. B. King 1956: Singin' the Blues (Crown)