
Kris Davis Makes DownBeat Cover with New Village Vanguard Classic With her band, Diatom Ribbons, the acclaimed jazz pianist makes a live record worthy of the Vanguards lofty legacy-and a major cover story.
By
John Mirisola
September 21, 2023
Kris Davis at the Village Vanguard
Image by Caroline Mardok
In the space of a few weeks, Kris Davis has released a landmark live album, Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard, and hit newsstands on the cover of DownBeat with a major feature in the magazine. Its a pair of achievements Davis, who also serves as associate program director of creative development for Berklees Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, doesnt take lightly.
Its a real honor to play and record at the historic Village Vanguard, thats for sure, says Davis, who has experienced decades worth of the venues history for herself. I lived in New York for 20 years, and I saw so many incredible concerts at the club, from Paul Motian to Geri Allen, she recalls, and its humbling to know that I had the chance to share the same stage with so many iconic jazz artists.
Diatom Ribbons at the Village Vanguard. Left to right: Val Jeanty, Julian Lage, Trevor Dunn, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis.
Image by Caroline Mardok
Davis took the Vanguard stage with her band, Diatom Ribbons, a stylistically diverse set of players whose varied approaches and backgrounds is a major asset for the ensemble. We have Val Jeanty [on turntables and electronics], whos from Haiti, whos coming from this Afrofuturism approach to improvisation, she says. Myself [on piano, prepared piano, and synth], whos more into free improvisation and bringing in contemporary classical influences; Julian Lage '08 [on electric guitar], who is a wonderful jazz player, but is also very knowledgeable and experienced in playing country and bluegrass music; Trevor Dunn [on electric and double bass], who plays in a metal band [called] Mr. Bungle; and of course Terri [Lyne Carrington, on drums], whos done everything.
The resulting double album, honed in 12 performances over six nights, is a thrilling roller-coaster of evolving grooves and sonic textures, encompassing everything from turntable-manipulated spoken word passages to multiple reworkings of Wayne Shorters Dolores.
The project has rightly garnered major critical praise, including the cover story in Septembers DownBeat. (Davis was also voted Pianist of the Year in the magazines 2022 Critics Poll.)
For sure, many pianists, ranging from such towering icons as Bill Evans, Bobby Timmons, McCoy Tyner, and Thelonious Monk to such eminent modernists as Brad Mehldau, Uri Caine, Jason Moran, Chucho Vald s, Geri Allen, and Junko Onishi have documented their stints at the Village Vanguard, writes DownBeats John Murph. And some of those albums have become part of the pantheon of best live albums in jazz history. Davis adds her scintillating new double-disc . . . to that distinguished legacy.
To be on the cover of Downbeat is incredible, of course, Davis says. I really want people to hear this album, because I think its one of my most creative and accessible albums, with some beautiful group interaction, and hopefully all the wonderful press the album has received will translate into people wanting to check out the music.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Elena Pinderhughes
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee Announces 2023 Fall Signature Series Lineup This years series will feature Elena Pinderhughes, Braxton Cook, Pavel N ez, and the Pletenitsa Balkan Choir, as well as a career-spanning tribute to Madonna.
Latest
Image generated with AI, using the prompt, digital art of an algorithm flowing out of the laptop screens of every student sitting in a college classroom.
How Generative AI Is Changing College Classes Four Berklee professors explore the educational opportunities and concerns raised by new AI tools like OpenAIs ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot.
Image courtesy of Juliette Ojeda
Conservatory Student Wows Gwen Stefani on The Voice Premiere Juliette Ojedas bilingual rendition of Hopelessly Devoted to You landed her on Team Gwen.
Two Alumni Compete on Season 24 of NBC's The Voice Taylor Deneen and Claudia B are the latest Berklee artists to compete on the hit singing competition.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
North America Stories
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
25/11/2025
FREMONT, Calif. Blackmagic Design said the Associated Press has completed the transition of its global video-editing platform to DaVinci Resolve Studio....
25/11/2025
Berklees Inaugural Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole Scholarship Awarded to Paris P...
25/11/2025
NEW YORK NFL and college football coverage, the MLB postseason and the new fall broadcast-TV season contributed to major gains for traditional media companies a...
25/11/2025
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. Tower Products, a manufacturer and distributor of pro video and audio equipment here, said President and CEO Jim Veltrie will retire from the c...
25/11/2025
Following last week's disclosure that it had acquired a 8.2% stake in E.W. Scripps, Sinclair has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission pr...
25/11/2025
Black Forest Labs - the frontier AI research lab developing visual generative AI models - today released the FLUX.2 family of state-of-the-art image generation ...
24/11/2025
HBO's The Shuffle' Reveals Longtime Connection of Sports and Entertainm...
24/11/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Hiroshi Kiriyama, Sony Broadcast (and Ind...
24/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: FIFA, NBC Olympics, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Netflix, NF...
24/11/2025
Case Study: YES Network Streamlines Broadcast Operations with Beam DynamicsBy SVG Staff
Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:18 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
...
24/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: More of Everything: How Broadcasters are Changing Their Ap...
24/11/2025
Versant Media USA Sports President Matt Hong on How Versant Has Best of Both Wor...
24/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: NABA Director-General Rebecca Hanson on How FCC's C-Band Aucti...
24/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Bolin Technology's Sapan Doshi on the Proliferati...
24/11/2025
The L3Harris next-generation imager for NOAA's GeoXO satellite system will c...