Lockjaw story

[Larry Kart]

from a Michael Weiss FB post:

"Lou Donaldson told me about hearing Jaws and Griff at Minton's. Sonny Stitt sat in and was getting a lot of house. So after that Jaws took a solo on 'Lover' and after a few choruses continued playing with his right hand in his pocket. The people went crazy." 

[soulpope]

14 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

from a Michael Weiss FB post:

"Lou Donaldson told me about hearing Jaws and Griff at Minton's. Sonny Stitt sat in and was getting a lot of house. So after that Jaws took a solo on 'Lover' and after a few choruses continued playing with his right hand in his pocket. The people went crazy." 

....

[JSngry]

I'm still trying to decode the anecdotes about Jaws corking up some keys on his horn b/c her didn't need them.

But bottom line, yeah, Lockjaw Davis WILL slit your throat and drink your blood.

[Gheorghe]

A lot about Lockjaw reading stuff you find in Art Taylors great book "Notes and Tones". But it seems, that Jaw´s cryptical comments did not amuse the interviewer Art Taylor.

More Lockjaw in Valerie Vilmer´s book in the chapter "Lock the Fox".

I´d say he´s one of the tenor players that can be very easy recognized. I don´t think one could be wrong on a blindfold test. It´s said that he stated he never was interested in changing his style. But he earned the deepest respect of his fellow musicians and even Miles, who seldom had kind words for "traditionalists" has only words of respect for Jaws. Don´t forget he played with Jaws and said about the 1951 Birdland recordings that it brought out the best of him, because with someone like Jaws you better don´t fool around.