Maxwell Davis

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Maxwell Davis (14 January 1916 – 18 September 1970) was an American R&B saxophonist, arranger and record producer.

He was born in Independence, Kansas. In 1937 he moved to Los Angeles, California, playing saxophone in the Fletcher Henderson orchestra. After some years playing swing and jazz, he became more involved in the West Coast R&B scene in the mid-1940s, becoming a regular session player and arranger for the fast growing independent labels such as Aladdin. By 1952, he had played on numerous R&B hits by Percy Mayfield, Peppermint Harris, Gatemouth Brown, T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, and others.

In 1955 he joined Modern Records as musical director. Although his success rate started to diminish thereafter, he became regarded as an elder statesman, and “the father of West Coast R&B”. His final recording activity was in 1969 as producer of soul singer Z.Z. Hill. He died in Los Angeles.