With his dreams of playing clarinet and saxophone hampered when his lip broke into a rash, Kim Davis switched to the bass. The decision proved fortuitous, as Davis has grown into one of the top session players in New York. A sideman for Janet Jackson, Johnny Kemp, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Peter Erskine, Mike Mainieri, Nia Peeples, and Tom Chapin, Davis has been featured on albums by Najee, Bruce Purse, Cliff Branch, Skipworth & Turner, Prince Charles & His City Beat Band, Johnny Walker, and Ophelie Winter. Acquiring his first bass at the age of 13, Davis taught himself to play along with records and the radio. Attending New York's High School of Music and Art, he claimed, "That's where the whole music world opened to me." Inspired by the bass playing of Marcus Miller, Davis approached the master bass player, who was performing in the pit band of Weldon Irvine's play Young, Gifted and Broke. Impressing Miller with his determination and desire to learn, Davis soon found himself playing duets with Miller. Although he formed his first band, Masters of Sound, shortly after meeting Miller, Davis found his greatest success as a session player. ~ Craig Harris