Simeon Nathanael Davis | Composer and Saxophones
Photo by Cristy Wise Photography
With a career spanning two continents before he was 20, arrangements that have received awards from both Downbeat (2021, 2022) and the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (2021) while still a student, and compositions described as “on a scale with Everglades by Terence Blanchard,” (Gary Lowe, WUNH), Simeon Nathanael Davis is a composer, bandleader, saxophonist, and violinist who blends jazz, folk, classical, and neo-soul music with his roots in South African jazz to programmatically trace narratives drawn from mythology, religion, fiction, and lived experiences, successfully "carrying on the renowned tradition associated with Charles Mingus [and] Maria Schneider" (Textura Magazine).
Davis was raised and lived in Cape Town, South Africa for 17 years. At the age of 5 he began learning music, and began studying violin at age 8 and alto saxophone at age 10. During his time in South Africa, Davis became active in the music scene, twice being recognized as Lead Alto in the National Schools’ Big Band, and from a young age placing and winning nationally in a variety of South Africa’s Eisteddfods in both jazz and classical categories. By age 17, Davis had received two certifications at the 8th level from the Trinity Guildhall with Merit and Distinction, and was performing regularly throughout Cape Town and beyond with both peers and mentors.
In 2016, Davis moved to Texas where he studied Jazz Saxophone under Brad Leali and Jazz Violin under Scott Tixier at the University of North Texas, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies, Summa Cum Laude, in 2020. Davis continued his studies, this time specializing in Jazz Composition, studying under esteemed composer/arranger Rich DeRosa and Latin Jazz pedagogue José M. Aponte, earning a Master of Music in 2022. During his time at UNT, Davis won the Innovative Music Programming Competition for his multimedia concert presentation “iKhaya Lam,” Pi Kappa Lambda’s Undergraduate Achievement Award for his cross-genre composition “The Diver,” Downbeat Student Music Awards in the Graduate Jazz Arranging category and Graduate Latin Jazz Ensemble category for his role as the ensemble's composer/arranger, as well as recognition from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers for his arrangement of Joshua Redman’s “Herbs and Roots.”
Davis performs throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area with his award-winning band the Simeon Davis Group and iKhaya Lam: A South African Jazz Collective, as well as working as a sideman for projects in the jazz and bluegrass music scenes. Davis's music has been featured by the University of North Texas's Latin Jazz Lab Band and the One O'clock Lab Band, on radio stations and podcasts across America and Europe, showcased in publications including Downbeat Magazine, All About Jazz, and Textura, and has made the editorial picks of both Jazz Artistry Now and Spotify.. Davis’s debut as a bandleader, Bah Humbug: An Absolutely Unnecessary Christmas Album was released in December 2020 and features unconventional arrangements of Christmas standards that pay homage to the styles of jazz musicians throughout history. Davis also appears on two upcoming albums: Fifth Harvest by the University of North Texas Latin Jazz Lab Band, as an assistant producer, composer, and performer, and the Simeon Davis Group’s sophomore album, Of Narratives & Nocturnes, releasing on Next Level on June 24th, 2022.
