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Bio
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On Ka'a Davis
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Guitarist, composer, bandleader, author, tone scientist and fashion designer (Onoculii Designs), On Ka'a Davis has been a long time contributor to the scene of New York's Lower East Side, the place of the axis of New York's avant garde culture of music, art and social activism, emerging as an original personna....a true iconic revolutionary in thought, action and accomplishments. On was a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra (with SunRa), Charles 'Bobo' Shaw's Human Arts Ensemble, Don Ayler's Septet (Ayler's only group as a leader, having recorded in Italy the now classic documentation in a 3 record set) and has worked extensively with saxophonist Luther Thomas, just to mention some of his credits from the more distant past. On publishes his music as On Mu Music (ASCAP), now with over 30 release titles. Under the name 'X-Ray Search Light Project', On's studio efforts explore what he describes as musical exhibitions.
Exploratories in his pulse beat music depict what On has coined as 'djuke music', a mix of voodoo blues, sonic jazzes and explosive releases over intense rhythms and 'free' improvisations. Titles in the On Mu Music catalog have included the contributions of luminary artists such as bassists Juini Booth, Radu Ben Judah and Francis MBappe, vocalists Marie Afonso, Tess Marsalis and Kadiatou Sibi, saxophonists Andrew Lamb, Luther Thomas, Sabir Mateen, Khusenaton Shu Amon, Saco Yasuma and Electric Meg Montgomery, percussionists Jojo Kuo, Greg Lewis and Tom Augsburger and pianist Matthew Shipp. Most recently, On works with drummer Kenny Wollesen as a member of his big band 'Himalayas' as well as with a variety Wollesen's sub set groups. Since the summer of 07, On has been the director of the Sun Ra Impossible Space Circus, a big band collective that performs the music of Sun Ra from Ra's original scores. This ensemble has only performed exclusively in New York, yet has attracted the attention of DownBeat magazine. On also is a member/founder of the trio group 'Cartoon Satellite' that features Nick Gianni on saxes and keyboards and Dalius "the genuis" Naujo on drums. On also leads the group 'Djuke Obbo', a jazzed out ensemble that keeps the pulse beat rhythms and chanted lyrics of his self-styled 'djuke music', addressing social conscious with hip deliveries. On has been a frequent guest on wkcr radio 89.9 fm, the station of Columbia University, the country's oldest radio station founded on a jazz programming format, performing live and engaging in musical discussions. Other musicians of note that On has been performing with recently have been guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboardist Aaron Whitby and bassist Kim Clarke. As a scholar, On has published his first book entitled, "Exerciricle: Keys to Museo-Ontology (On Mu Music Press). This book is perhaps the only book of its kind to explore the science of museo-ontology, the study of sound- energy in meta-physical science as a way for the student/initiate to attain a means of achieving one's greatest creative potential. On is currently writing 2 more books, one a study of 'sound as "true" (architectual) geometry and another on the codes of American slave society music that spawned what has become the music called jazz. |
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