“Assured explosive drumming.” Irish Times. “He is the most musical of drummers, ever empathic and sensitive.” Jazzwise.
DR STEVE ‘DAKIZ’ DAVIS is a professional percussionist and composer and has been active in such fields in the UK and Europe. Steve was born in Belfast and is known as much for his jazz drumming as his free improvisational style of playing. He started having a strange interest in hitting things to get a sound out of them around the age of 12 and he has continued this obsession ever since.
STUDIES He gained a BA(hons) in contemporary music from Leeds University in 2000, and a Distinction, in a Post-Graduate Diploma in Jazz from Trinity school of Music London 2003. After this Steve studied at the Skidmore Jazz Institute in New York, on a Arts Council funded Scholarship.
TEACHERS Keith Copeland, Dave Hassell, Martin France,Paul Clarvis, Ed Shaugnessey.
PERFORMING In 2003 he toured with the European Jazz Orchestra, playing 25 dates throughout all the member states; Denmark,Switzerland,Italy,Germany and so on. Living in London for the last 3 years he has been playing drums with the cream of Londons jazz community, players such as EVAN PARKER, DJANGO BATES, JULIAN SEIGAL, DYLAN BATES, ANNIE WHITEHEAD, BEN CASTLE, TOM ARTHURS, MARTIN SPEAK, MARK LOCKHEART, PAUL DUNMALL, JAKIE DANKWORTH, MIKE WALKER, NORMA WINSTON and has also performed with many european and american musicians, CHRIS WEISENDANGER, DOMINIQUE DI PIAZZA, DICK OATS, CURTIS FULLER, ALAN VACHE, BRUNNO TOMMASSO, BRIAN IRVINE, MARC RIBOT, JOE MORRIS, RUFUS RIED, GREG BURKE. He continues to concentrate on these and many other projects with the likes of MATHEW BOURNE, DAVE KANE, PAUL DUNMALL, DJANGO BATES, BRIAN IRVINE, and his own London based band ‘HYPNOTOAD’ who just finished a tour of Ireland 2004. Most recently working with Irish musicians MICHAEL BUCKLEY and MIKE NEILSEN.
TEACHING Recently Steve has been lecturing at Queens University Belfast, N.Ireland. He is teaching Performance/Composition.