Tommy Davidson

Talk for two minutes with Tommy Davidson and try not to be captivated by his energy, positive spirit and zest for living. Listen to his trombone playing and try to resist the sheer gusto of his sound! Then try and imagine that, only four years ago, this powerful musician was lying on his deathbed, stricken with an advanced form of cancer, and suffering from complications endured in surgery. Yet driven by the desire to fulfill his dreams of becoming a serious musician, and sustained by the love and support of his wife, he found the hope and the will to recover, and to eventually go on and realize those dreams.

Born in the small town of Sikeston Missouri, seven year old Tommy settled with his family in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, at the height of the civil rights movement, when Martin Luther King was assassinated. His father, a Presbyterian minister, and mother held firm non-racist ideals which shaped the young Tommy’s emerging thoughts on justice and equality. In addition, they instilled a love and appreciation for music in Tommy at an early age. Although his parents both played the piano, and his mother sang in the church choir, they did not fill their home with church music, but rather with the Big Band music of the 40's and 50's. "I never knew a home where I didn’t hear music," recalls Tommy. "Some mornings I’d wake up to hear my mother playing ‘Deep Purple’ on the piano."

Public School Paradise

Emulating the example of his older brother, Tommy took up the trombone in 6th grade and discovered that he "had a knack for it," and soon decided that he wanted to be a player. He was fortunate to attend a public school with one of the finest music programs in the state. Jazz band and regular band classes met everyday, from 7th grade on, and in high school, he further supplemented his training with music history and theory classes.

But despite the plethora of music course offerings, "I never heard the word ‘art’ used in connection with music until college," remembers Tommy. Teachers were more concerned with maintaining discipline than in the free flow of artistic ideas. Intimidation techniques that would never be tolerated today–screaming and yelling, throwing things, even hitting–were launched at the students to keep them in line. Nonetheless , Tommy was undaunted, claiming "all I wanted to do was go to band class."

While school provided a means of developing his craft, experiencing live music inspired his artistic expression. His parents frequently took him to see the jazz greats–Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman–kindling his excitement and firing his drive. "I had a burr under my saddle to be as good a musician as I was hearing....I wanted to be Maynard Ferguson.!" Tommy followed a regimen of careful listening to the jazz masters--JJ Johnson, Frank Rosolino, Carl Fontana, Curtis Fuller-- to tune his ear and emulate their sound.

Early Gigs

In 1977 Tommy entered North Texas State as a Jazz Education major, but left his sophomore year, to take a job on the road with an Elvis impersonator band for about a year.

In the early 80's, Tommy landed in the Houston area, working by day at the Imperial Sugar Company as a machinist, and playing by night with the "Nation Players," a funk band of all-black musicians who affectionately called Tommy "Fonky Honky."

River Rat

Joining his brothers in the mid 80's in Terlingua, west Texas, just outside Big Bend National Park, Tommy worked as a river guide at his brother’s river rafting operation. When not chopping up the waters, they were churning up the music, dubbing themselves the "Terlingua All-Stars." But by the early 90's, it became clear that Tommy would have to make a choice between boats or bones. His arms were dead from the strains of pulling boats, money was scarce, and he had just gotten married.

Moving to Austin, he delved into the city’s music scene, playing with Clifford Zirkel’s Big Band, The Jimmy Siegeler Orchestra, The Gilbert Kouts Orchestra., and The Austin Symphony in their Pops Concert. One highlight of the Pops Series remains indelibly etched on Tommy’s memory, attesting to the civil rights values he internalized early on as a result of his parents’ influence. The speaking role in Copland’s "Lincoln Portraits" was performed by the aging but venerable Barbara Jordan. "She was a very moving speaker–you could close your eyes and hear her, and get goose bumps."

After a divorce in 1996, Tommy returned to Terlingua, working on the river and playing locally at every opportunity. Here he met his current wife, Deana, who had recently moved from the Bay Area. A year later, they relocated to Alpine, Texas, where Deana opened an Insurance Agency.

A Miraculous Recovery

It was at this time that Tommy began experiencing health problems. Feeling worn out, and having trouble breathing and swallowing, he was told by the doctor that it was the flu, and was treated with antibiotics. In no time, Tommy was losing weight, and experiencing pain to the point where he couldn’t get up. Deana took him to the emergency room, where the doctors discovered a mass in his abdomen. Further tests at the West Texas Cancer Center in Odessa first suggested lymphoma; several days later the diagnosis was confirmed as Seminoma, and Tommy was given a 30% chance of living.

What ensued would discourage even the strongest of individuals: Four months of intensive chemotherapy, 6 surgeries, and continued diagnostic uncertainty. Finally the doctors changed his diagnosis to testicular cancer, and told him they couldn’t help him anymore.

In October, 1999, at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Tommy underwent 15 hours of surgery to open the entire lower half of his abdomen. Good news: The disease hadn’t metastasized into his organs; Bad news: while on the operating table, his aorta ruptured as a result of the chemo being continually mainlined straight into it for 4 months.

Thirteen units of blood later, and four days in the ICU, Tommy was stabilized. His recovery was declared a miracle; his body pronounced cancer-free. Within one week, full of staples, Tommy was back on his feet.

"I told my wife I wasn’t going to die," asserts Tommy. "I could feel that if I’d given up, I could just turn over and go to sleep and it’d be over. But my goals were not done. I wanted to get serious about music and go for it in a big city like San Francisco, L.A., or New York."

Lonestar Transplanted

During recovery, Tommy worked as a sports editor for the local paper, but could not blow his horn for a year. The couple began to lay plans for a return to the Bay Area, where they moved over New Years of 2003. Through registering with the musician’s union, Tommy met Oz Ramsey of the Oz Ramsey Big Band, who introduced him to Bob Athayde. After filling in for a sick trombone player at the Town Hall Jazz Festival, Bob invited Tommy to teach at Stanley Middle School as part of Lafayette Arts and Science’s "Musicians-in-Residence" Program.

Teaching trombone sectionals throughout the day on Thursdays, along with fellow professionals Alex Murzyn and Mic Gillette, Tommy approaches music from a practical standpoint, showing what it’s like and what’s needed to work on a band stand.. He emphasizes the importance of classical fundamentals and of listening to the masters to play in any style.

Today, Tommy can’t get enough of life. His survival is a testimony to the pull of a dream, the power of love, and the passion for music. His vim and verve is uplifting, mirrored by the joy that soars from his trombone.

"The best part of being a musician is being with musicians. There are no better people than musicians. We’re all members of a brotherhood."

"Music is my world!" exclaims Tommy. And just maybe, his salvation.