You have worked and recorded with so many amazing musicians, what have been some of your most notable moments in collaborations?
I was fortunate in 2023 to record an album with Bon Iver, who is one of my favorite artists. I tracked down his producer, Ryan Olsen, who lives in Minneapolis and I found out that he used to play upright bass so I was like “I gotta make a record with him.” I want to make music that people want to listen to but I want my instrument to be something that people want to listen to. I hear upright bass on Taylor Swift, I heard upright bass on Bon Iver’s music before I played with him, I hear upright bass basically on everything that I listen to but it’s an instrument that isn’t used very often. So I tracked down this dude, Ryan and I was like, “You got to get him on the record” and through a lot of negotiation I was able to make it happen and we did a song together on my record and then I contributed to his song, Everything is Peaceful Love which almost won the Grammy but it didn’t. It was a great experience and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.
Check out some of Cole’s favorite collabs from over the years!
Miracle. (Cole Davis, Feat. Poliça)
Time and Time Again (Dua Saleh)
Everything is Peaceful Love (Bon Iver)
Have you always wanted to pursue a career in jazz? What were some influences in your early life that led you to be a career musician?
Both of my parents are musicians and they were really strict. I wasn't allowed to watch TV. I wasn't really allowed to do anything other than practice and write music. And it wasn't so much that I wanted to be a musician. It was more that they wanted me to be a musician. But then I was really fortunate to go to LaGuardia High School. And it was like, how could I not want to be a musician if I'm around this all the time, you know? So even though I was really serious about music, that's where I really fell in love with music. And from that point, I was like, yeah, I'm not doing anything else, you know? I didn't really go to my academic classes. I didn't really take anything seriously other than just practicing and figuring out what I wanted to say as a musician. And I'm still figuring it out.
Can you share a little about your early experiences with Jazz Generation in our youth programs and beyond? How has Jazz Generation impacted your career as a jazz musician in NYC?
I was in the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra when I was like 14. And it was really cool because you got to play at the Jazz Standard. And for people who don't know what the Jazz Standard is, it closed during COVID. but it was one of the best clubs anywhere in the world. The great chef/restaurateur Danny Meyer was also involved and his chefs would cook for us. So it was crazy because you got to play at the Jazz Standard for an actual crowd and then eat this incredible food. And we were like 14, 15 years old. So the fact that a program like this existed was crazy. And that's how I got linked up with KEYED UP! and with Jazz Generation and with all the stuff that y'all are doing. And then just being in the scene, being around. I've played so many gigs that I find out later are a KEYED UP! gig. I played with Kaz George for a while. He was an amazing saxophonist and composer. I found out after doing the gig with him a few times, like, oh, this place is actually only made possible by you guys. So it's a special thing and I'm glad it exists.
Your recent album, 'Consider It!' has gotten some great buzz online. It features some amazing collaborations and a unique voice in jazz. What was your artistic inspiration for the album and have you been happy with the reception so far?
My artistic inspiration was to do something on my instrument that is relevant sonically and culturally and can reach an audience of people my own age. I've been pretty happy with the reception. It's not often that an upright bass player gets to be on New Music Friday or Spotify's Picks of the Month but I think, I just try to stay focused on the next set of goals rather than, you know, basking in ‘oh man, I did this cool thing.’ It feels like I released that record like three years ago, you know, even though it hasn't even been a year. It feels like that was way in the past.
What will be your next project?
I'm a big law of attraction person. Like if I talk about something, it'll happen. So I met with this label out in Los Angeles called R&R, and they have some huge artists. So I'm really hoping they sign my next record. If they're reading this, you know, I hope the offer still stands. But yeah, I just finished the seeds of what's going to be another record. And I did it with my friend Peter, who plays keyboards for Bon Iver. And it's a similar kind of sound. So I'm just hoping that we can get some traction with this one, and that we can just keep building and keep making it happen.
Why did you decide to stay in NYC for college and beyond? Are there any particular places in New York that inspire your sound?
I gotta be honest, I'm not in New York for the scene necessarily. I am a New Yorker. It's a part of who I am. It's really nice to be able to go hear some of the greatest music in the world or be able to study with people who have invented the way our instrument is being played. You get to experience these crazy things being in New York and you get to be around these unbelievable people and hear the best music. But, overall, if you got rid of the music scene in New York I actually think I would still be in New York. It's the energy of this place and the fact that everything is moving at a hundred miles an hour because my brain moves at a hundred miles an hour. I think being here is essential for me more so about the pace than the sound of a certain scene.
What do you think about the JG format of programs for youth feeding into programming for adults?
I think it's great. I mean, I'm an educator and I run a business called Better Bass Lessons. And in my business, we do a lot of workshops that mostly adults sign up for. I mean, it's open to anyone, but, you know, I think it's as valid for adults to learn music as children. In addition to offering me the important resource of regular performance as a young musician, KEYED UP also offered me an invaluable educational experience. No matter the gig or recording I find myself on, I can trace my ability to play in an ensemble all the way back to the lessons I learned as a young player in KEYED UP.
We see you've been very active in creating educational content? Do you think there are things missing in traditional 'jazz pedagogy'?
That's such a loaded question. I think the thing that's missing in traditional jazz pedagogy is the acceptance that jazz is music for musicians and that learning how to play jazz is about using jazz as a tool the same way you use growing up in the church as a tool or playing classical music as a tool. Jazz is a form of classical music and it should be approached that way where you are doing this because it is the foundation for all of Black American music. This is going to make you a stronger musician. When I was at juilliard the main thing that everyone wanted to do was be a 100% die-hard professional jazz musician that only makes a living playing jazz and recording jazz and teaching jazz and nothing else. I'm five years out of school now and I look at all I've done and most of it is not straight ahead jazz. Most of it is something else. Even in my educational work, most of it isn't jazz. I got to this point in my career because I studied jazz which made me a better musician and a better team player. But I think we kind of have to stop beating everyone over the head with recordings from the 30s and 40s and instead, like, eat your vegetables. You might not like this recording because it doesn't relate to you, because it is from 20 years before your parents were born. But if you do this, it will make you a stronger musician and it will free you up to be able to do a whole variety of musical things.