Jan Davis is a guitarist who once played with B. Bumble & the Stingers, who are among the first groups to rearrange classical works (as the pioneering pianist, Dorothy Donegan had earlier done) into boogie and early rock & roll numbers. German Wikipedia, interestingly enough, helpfully names the musicians in B. Bumble & the Stingers, with René Hall, Tommy Tedesco, and Jan Davis identified as the guitarists.
One of few photos of Jan Davis
Jan Davis would record a handful of albums and several fistfuls of 45s throughout the 1960s/70s on a colorful mix of labels: Guild, Rendezvous, Holiday, Smash, A&M, Columbia, White Whale, RCA Victor, UNI, Big Bird, Bear, Shamley, Direct Hit, Triad, Ranwood, Cambria, Quad-ett, EZ, Chattahoochee, and PBR International.
According to Discogs, Jan Davis also once played with The Ventures. Del Halterman‘s Ventures biography, Walk – Don’t Run, notes that former Ventures drummer, Mel Taylor, once worked as a talent spotter for the label, PBR International, and one of his earliest signings was Jan Davis, “who was ready to blend his flamenco guitar with the current disco craze. “Flamenco Dance Man“ was released in 1978. Taylor and Davis then re-mixed that cut and “Bolero” to produce a twelve-inch single as the Jan Davis Guitar with the Flamenco Boogie Band“:
The Jan Davis Guitar with The Flamenco Boogie Band
“Bolero” (1978)
I love how Jan Davis forgets to list the composition’s principal composer, Maurice Ravel. 1978’s Flamenco USA album would include “Bolero,” as well as the theme from TV’s Police Woman series.
Jan Davis LPs to get:
1969’s Flamenco Funk on Uni & 1975’s Hot Sauce on Ranwood.
Billboard ad –
Aug. 9, 1969
