Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis was born on March 2, 1922 in New York, New York. I couldn’t find any information about his family and childhood or even his early musical experiences. He started when he was a bit older though because several sites say that 8 months after purchasing his first saxophone, he started playing professionally in Harlem. He was completely self taught.

In the late 1930’s and 1940’s he played with a number of big bands. In 1952, he joined the Count Basie Orchestra. While playing with the orchestra, he continued to do projects in smaller bands. He toured with Shirley Scott and recorded classics with her like The Rev.

Here is a great Davis performance.