Corbett vs. Dempsey, the record label operated by the owners of the West Town art gallery of the same, tends to focus on rigorous improvised music and free jazz, but a new release presents a wonderful shift in stylistic focus. Scapula is a hard-swinging, nine-track collection of impossibly rare bebop cut in Chicago in 1949 by a combo led by saxophonist George Davis. The short liner notes on the back of the cover, written by John Corbett, seem to contain what little is known about Davis: he was leading a group in the mid-40s that included singer Jackie Cain and pianist Roy Kral, who, after a later stint with saxophonist and bandleader Charlie Ventura, went on to a successful career as a duo. Davis led a quartet that featured the pair and cut two 78s for the Aristocrat label in 1947, but otherwise the saxophonist went undocumented.
Today’s playlist:
