He played with Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, as well as leading his own bands and making many recordings as a leader. He played in the swing, bop, hard bop, Latin jazz, and soul jazz genres. Some of his recordings of the 1940s also could be classified as rhythm and blues.

His 1946 band, Eddie Davis and His Beboppers, featured Fats Navarro, Al Haig, Huey Long, Gene Ramey and Denzil Best.

In the 1950s he was playing with Sonny Stitt, while from 1960 to 1962 he and fellow tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin led a quintet. From the mid-60s, Davis and Griffin also performed together as part of The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, along with other, mainly European, jazz musicians.

His playing influenced Harry Gibson profoundly.

Select Discography

• Cookbook, Vol.1,2, 1958, OJC, Prestige, with Shirley Scott (org), George Duvivier (b), Arthur Edgehill (dr), Jerome Richardson (fl)
• Trane Whistle 1960
• Tough Tenors 1960, with Johnny Griffin, Junior Mance (p), Ben Riley (dr), Larry Gales (b)
• Blues Up And Down 1961, with Johnny Griffin
• Live at Mintons 1961, Prestige, with Griffin, Mance, Riley
• Streetlights 1962, with Don Patterson (org)
• Sax No End 1967, with Johnny Griffin, Francy Boland (arrangements)
• Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again 1970, with Johnny Griffin
• Jazz at the Philharmonic (1983)

External links

• Overview of Davis' contributions to jazz
• Youtube video
• Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis performing with The Count Basie Orchestra.
• List of tunes Davis has played on, at MTV.com