Jesse Ed Davis – ¡Jesse Davis! …album review

I’ve heard of this guy for so long, associated with Taj Mahal and solo Beatles tracks. He played on over 80 albums of other artists. His guitar playing was top shelf and was truly one of the guitar greats. He doesn’t get the attention he deserves. My admitted lack of knowledge of him led me to think he could only play guitar. Much like last week’s Link Wray post, who I didn’t know could sing, he had a really good voice. I also want to thank Lisa from Tao-Talk for posting a Davis song last Friday. 

Jesse Ed Davis was Kiowa, Comanche, and Muscogee (Creek) on his father’s side, while his mother was of Kiowa and Cherokee descent with a small strand of European ancestry. In other words, he was overwhelmingly Native American, with family roots braided through several Plains and Southeastern tribes. He grew up connected to that identity, not as a stage costume, but as him. His dad painted the cover for this album. 

I started to go through his albums like ¡Jesse Davis!, Ululu, and Keep Me Comin or Keep On Coming. He has a couple more, which I still have to get to. I’m totally impressed by his rootsy music. Again, instead of just picking a song, I wanted to feature the album. There is no #1 hit on the album, nor do I think he was trying for that. Just really good, solid songs. 

When Jesse Ed Davis stepped into a studio to record his 1971 debut album ¡Jesse Davis!. He had already carved out a reputation as the guitarist you called when you wanted soul and a heavenly guitar tone, and most importantly, zero ego. He’d played with Taj Mahal, recorded with Gene Clark, and done sessions with everyone from Albert King to Earl Hooker, Jackson Browne, John Lennon, and a ton of other artists. Jesse was the go-to guitarist of the 1970s. 

How respected was he? On this album, he had some incredible guests. Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Gram Parsons, Alan White, and the Gimme Shelter singer Merry Clayton. This album sounds like a loose jam session that worked all the way around. My favorite song on the album is Washita Love Child. It just hit me and has stuck. I found myself hitting the play button again and again. The band around him cooks with an irresistible looseness. You can hear Clapton on his track loud and clear. After researching for this post, I found out it was featured on the TV show  Reservation Dogs. 

The album works because it stays out of its own way. Lou Adler keeps the production loose and moving. Leon Russell arranged some of the songs and added his unique touch. The songs drift between blues, roots rock, and a kind of West Coast soul. Reno Street Incident floats in like someone cracked open a window at two in the morning. Every Night Is Saturday Night for Me comes alive with Leon’s piano, rolling forward like only Leon can do. And when Gram Parsons or Eric Clapton pop up, they don’t hijack the song; they simply join in.

What really holds everything together is Jesse’s guitar, a voice unto itself. He never shows off, he never “shreds,” he simply plays for the song. His solos feel lived in and warm. He didn’t shout to be heard; he just played. Hearing him play and sing on this album is like slipping into a holey, comfortable favorite shirt.

The album doesn’t scream commercial…it doesn’t scream at all. It’s an album you put on and listen to all the way through, and sit back and enjoy some great music. Jesse Ed Davis passed away in 1988 at the young age of 43. 

I added a 10-minute documentary clip.

Washita Love Child

I was born on the bank
in the Washitaw river
in a Kiowa Comanche teepee

Daddy had a hard time
Mama made his eyes shine
Lord, it was just us three
Well they weaned me riding bareback
And I’d tie my hair back
And i did that pow wow thang
Daddy showed up with his stand up guitar
and then we rocked it i believe

I’m a love child
and I’m running wild
hope it don’t take too long
I’m a love you
I’m a try to make you happy
you got to let me sing my song

Mama said to son
Said what about your school books?
Baby baby what about the draft?
Daddy said honey don’t you worry about this boy he’s headed somewhere
Got a guitar and a van to ride

He’s a love child
He’s gonna be running wild
Hope he don’t take too long
He’s gonna love you
He’s in love with me too
So we got to let him sing his song

Well i got myself together
And i’ve been rolling down the road
Gonna boogie down down down down
If i ever get a chance to boogie woogie you
Ha, you can’t sit down

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

41 thoughts on “Jesse Ed Davis – ¡Jesse Davis! …album review”

  1. Pingback: Jesse Ed Davis – ¡Jesse Davis! …album review – MobsterTiger

  3. Wowa, Max, I love it!!! I had never heard of Jesse Ed Davis. That music immediately grabs me. And the impressive list of guest speaks for itself. I can hear some Leon Russell vibe (not surprising, I suppose!), not only in the music but also in Davis’ voice. This is a great find!

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    1. Awesome man…I thought you might. He is on a lot of the Taj Majhal records that influenced Duane to play slide…and Lennon and Jackson Browne ones…an incredible guitar player. Thanks Christian…a name I’ve heard throughout my life but never knew anything about him.

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      1. That documentary is pretty cool as well. The fact all these top notch artists praised Jesse really speaks for itself. And, as you said, he also had a great voice – very soulful.

        So sad he passed away so early! Only 43. And, apparently, yet another musician lost to drugs. It’s heart-breaking!

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      2. He had a subtle and likable voice like his guitar playing…Derek Trucks said he always sounded like he was holding back…. it seemed like he was never wailing his guitar at 11…he just played the perfect notes.
        I would like to see a complete doc of him…I didn’t know about Doctor My Eyes…that he did that. I really like his stuff…rootsy blues or whatever you call it.

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    1. Thanks Randy…he is a guy you probably (like me) wouldn’t know his solo stuff but you have heard his guitar…like the solo of Doctor My Eyes and those great Taj Mahal albums. Yea…the Band and Americana is a good fit…

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  6. Funny you mention Link Wray because I really only learned about both of them via the same movie, one on Native musicians. I see Jesse’s name on a lot of credits, definitely a quality guitarist. Unfortunately had a lot of demons he couldn’t quite shake.

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    1. You have heard his guitar everywhere. I told Glyn…kinda like Nicky Hopkins…he was on everything in the 70s…but I really like this stuff…very organic and real. Yes it’s a shame what happened to him…I so wish he could have beat them.

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  9. Max, I am loving what I’m hearing of Jesse on his own albums. Have him favorited in Spotify and trying to get to listen to more. Only thing I’d add to your wonderful post is that Jesse’s dad painted the album cover.

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    1. Oh thank you! I’ll add that to the post! That never came up in my research…I just love the looseness of him…a very good but unassuming voice and guitar…he stays in the pocket and gets it done….not overdoing anything like Derek Trucks said.

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      2. Oh yes you are! I didn’t believe I would stump CB or you ever…I would have thought Link Wray before this one….but again I didn’t know he really could sing…or Davis.

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  11. When I got the Taj Mahal album “Giant Step” in 1969 I had to look to see who the guitarist was. I was an instant fan. You put it well: “He didn’t shout to be heard; he just played.” I think of him in the same vein as Ry Cooder. He plays the notes the song needs and leaves out the ones it doesn’t. He plays in service to the music rather than the other way around.

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