The jazz world lost a giant in 2023. The Chicago-bred bassist Richard Davis played on over 3,000 recordings from the 1950s into the 2000s, spanning all styles of music: straight-ahead jazz, classical, avant-garde, and pop. Davis won the Downbeat International Critics Poll in the category Best Bassist for eight years in a row from 1967 through 1974. After 23 years living in New York City, Davis relocated in 1977 to teach at the University of Wisconsin Madison — a position he held until his retirement in 2016. William Parker, Hans Sturm, and Josh Werner are among the hundreds of students whom Davis mentored and taught through the years. Davis’ legacy as a player is captured on the countless albums he underpinned with his impeccable technique and wild imagination. He lifted every band he played with, inspiring and creating good trouble and controlled chaos, underpinned by the blues and his creative flame. Throughout his career, Davis shared the stage and recording studio wi