Jamie Davis is an acclaimed classic jazz vocalist and a multi-Grammy nominee and 2023 Grammy Award recipient for “Basie Sings the Blues.” Even Stanley Crouch, the ferocious, iconoclastic critic who knew jazz intimately and called things as he saw them, heralded, “Jamie Davis, another extremely polished singer on the scene.”

Despite the changing landscape of music, Jamie is highly regarded for his unwavering commitment to elevate jazz to its rightful place. Throughout his distinguished career, he continues to inspire listeners with his timeless voice, incredible versality, and powerful bass-baritone range.

Like his esteemed predecessor Joe Williams, who is considered by many as the finest jazz singer of his generation, Jamie is known for his smooth, resonant chops, and cool sophistication. Also, like Mr. Williams, Jamie rose to prominence as the lead vocalist for the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. In that capacity, he captivated audiences worldwide with his lush lyricism, deep, velvety voice, elegant phrasing, and imposing stage presence. 

amie is no stranger to popular jazz cruises and festivals and has performed at many, from Nice, Serbia and Playboy to Montebello and Monterey, where Clint Eastwood hailed him as one of his favorite jazz singers of all times.

Jamie’s voice has been featured in various commercials, as well as docudramas. He narrated “A Time to Remember” which won the “Black American Independent Filmmakers Award.” Not only are Jamie’s songs broadcasted on radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada, but his music has also made the playlist of British Airlines, Scandinavian, Aer Lingus, and British Midland flights. 

First upon hearing Jamie’s voice, many say he sounds just like Lou Rawls, a comparison that has been made since Jamie was 17 and opening for the Ohio Players. His cousin, Charles Hayes still credits Jamie’s music, particularly “My Funny Valentine” and “Besame Mucho” with much of his success with the ladies. 

During his most recent trip to Europe in 2024, he performed in Switzerland and throughout various cities in Italy, as well as taught several vocal jazz Master Classes, in which Andrea Gallizioli hailed him the successor to Lou Rawls and Joe Williams. He further emphasized that Jamie has performed with everyone from Tony Bennett, George Benson, and Jimmy Cobb to Patty Austin, Rosemary Clooney, and Billy Cobham.

Upon meeting Jamie on a Straight Ahead Jazz cruise, Jillean Hughes Dath, the surviving wife of Joe Williams said, “They say you sound like my late husband Joe Williams and I came to see.”  The two became quick friends and Jamie arranged for her to attend several of his shows in Las Vegas and the Presidio in San Francisco. In return, Joe’s wife gifted Jamie with several of his personal effects, including a favorite Giorgio Armani necktie he wore while performing.

Since his tenure with the Basie Orchestra, Jamie’s talent has enchanted fans across genres, generations, and countries. His international visibility includes being the first jazz artist to ever perform at the grand Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, to a sold-out crowd of over 1500. Jamie also performed to sold-out crowds in Philharmonic Hall in Tyumen, Russia, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. 

Following his stellar performance in London with the BBC’s sixty-four piece Orchestra and Big Band, Sir Michael Parkinson the BBC’s arbiter of important international jazz proclaimed Jamie, “a proper singer of real talent and style. He can sing the blues and ballads to the manner born and man does he swing.”

In addition to headlining acts in France, Italy, Japan, Dubai, Switzerland, Finland, Moscow, Serbia, Turkey, Spain, Finland, Kuala Lumpur, Germany, and other countries with his extensive repertoire of jazz, swing, and blues, Jamie has enraptured television audiences globally. Some unforgettable appearances include “Parkinson in the UK, Sweden, and Australia,” THE 60^TH Anniversary Show with The HRTa Big Band in Zagreb, Croatia, and The Jerry Lewis Telethon in Las Vegas. 

Jamie’s impeccable sense of timing and phrasing, coupled with his unique vocal delivery conveys a deep emotional and sensuous expression which has resulted in many remarkable performances in prestigious supper clubs throughout the world. While Jamie can swing with the best of them, his romantic and tender style of singing ballads bring to mind renown performances of past decades when the greatest names in the genre like Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, and Arthur Prysock, headlined acts. Like those greats, Jamie has also performed at the great Appel Room at Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s, and the Blue Note in New York, Milan, and Tokyo. 

In his adopted home state of California, Jamie is a jazz staple extraordinaire in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 1999 was included in the prestigious ‘Bay Area Giants of Jazz’ photograph, an event inspired by the iconic “A Great Day in Harlem” photo of jazz legends in 1958.

Jamie frequently enchants jazz enthusiast with his rich, warm depth and ability to bridge genres throughout the Bay and has packed the house from the famous Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel to SF Jazz, Palace of Fine Arts, Key’s Jazz Bistro, Yoshi’s, Meyhouse Restaurant, Stanford University Bing Auditorium, Lesher Auditorium, The Church of Jazz and Justice, Piedmont Piano, Bach Dancing and Dynamite, to Jazz on the Plaz, and all jazz venues in between.