Richard Davis on playing on Astral Weeks

RUFFIN: NOW, A JAZZ MOMENT WITH BASSIST AND NEA JAZZ MASTER, RICHARD DAVIS.

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RICHARD DAVIS: Me and Lou Merenstein and Astral Weeks. That was a remarkable feeling in the studio.

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RUFFIN: IN 1968, PRODUCER LEWIS MERENSTEIN ASKED RICHARD DAVIS TO FORM A GROUP TO PLAY BEHIND VAN MORRISON. NO ONE KNEW THAT RECORDING WOULD BECOME THE CLASSIC, ASTRAL WEEKS. RICHARD DAVIS.

RICHARD DAVIS: So, I chose Jay Berliner on guitar, I chose Connie Kay on the drums and I chose Warren Smith on the vibes. We went to the studio, Lou passes out the music sheets and Lou said, "Okay, we're gonna make a take." And I just conceived this bass line on those chords and Lou said, "That's tomorrow's rock and roll bass line."

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THIS JAZZ MOMENT WITH RICHARD DAVIS WAS PRODUCED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.

Excerpt of “Astral Weeks” written and performed by Van Morrison with Richard Davis, from the album Astral Weeks, used courtesy of Warner Music Group and by permission of Warner Chappell Music Inc. BMI