Stanton Davis’ Ghetto Mysticism

Stanton Davis (born Nov. 10, 1945) is an American trumpeter from New Orleans who led the jazz-funk band Ghetto Mysticism, which issued the 1977 album Brighter Days on Outrageous Records Incorporated.

Background

Stanton Davis Jr. was born on November 10, 1945, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Doreatha J. Davis and Stanton Davis Sr. Davis started trumpet in fourth grade at McDonogh No. 6 Elementary School in New Orleans. During high school, he played local clubs and bars in New Orleans before he moved into formal study in Boston. Davis studied at Berklee College of Music from 1967 to 1969 and at New England Conservatory from 1969 to 1973. He also served as program director for the MIT radio station from 1968 to 1974.

Davis first worked around Boston, where he came into contact with composer and bandleader George Russell, who used Davis on trumpet and flugelhorn for the 1966–67 recordings later compiled on The Essence of George Russell, released in 1971 on Sonet. Davis also played trumpet in the Bill Evans–George Russell Orchestra for the May 1972 Living Time sessions in New York. After that early recording work, Davis formed Ghetto Mysticism in Boston and led the group through local performances during the 1970s.

Brighter Days

Stanton Davis’ Ghetto/Mysticism released their debut album, Brighter Days, in 1977 on Outrageous Records.

The album presents electric jazz-funk and vocal ensemble material performed by nearly twenty players and singers, including trumpeter and flugelhornist Stanton Davis, saxophonist Leonard Brown, guitarist and bassist Jerome Harris, keyboardists Alan Pasqua and Delmar Brown, and drummer Vinnie Johnson.

“Things Cannot Stop Forever” enters with cackling laughter and a slippery low-end figure, then slams into heavy drums, synth wash, and bright trumpet phrases. “Space-A-Nova I” widens the album into deep electronic haze. “Play Sleep” creeps over a dark bass line before piano figures and trumpet cries open the track. “Brighter Days/Brighter Daze” softens the set with vocal haze and a warmer harmonic cast. “Funky Fried Tofu” pivots on a joking chorus and crisp dance pressure. “High Jazz Reprise” closes with spoken title rhetoric over the album’s electric afterglow.

A1. “Things Cannot Stop Forever (Poon Tang Tally-Wacky)” (5:16) – Davis, Anderson, Brown
A2. “Space-A-Nova I” (4:33) – Davis
A3. “Play Sleep” (4:56) – Davis, Garbarek
A4. “Brighter Days / Brighter Daze” (4:57) – Davis

B1. “Funky Fried Töfu” (5:55) – Davis
B2. “Nida” (3:54) – Davis
B3. “Space-A-Nova II” (5:00) – Davis
B4. “High Jazz” (4:35) – Davis
B5. “High Jazz Reprise” (2:50) – Davis, Windham

Sessions occurred from 1975 to 1976 at Dimension Sound Studio in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, with engineer Tom Foley. Davis mixed the album at the Mixing Lab in Newton, Massachusetts, with engineer John Nagy during 1977.

Brighter Days features cover art by Sedsil Paske from the enamel Fire Is the Soul of the Sun.

Manhattan Melody

Stanton Davis released his second album, Manhattan Melody, in 1988 on Enja Records.

The album presents eight LP tracks by Davis and Carl Stoermer, performed by trumpeter and flugelhornist Davis, reedist Dave Mann (alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute), bassist Mark Dresser, percussionist Carl Stoermer, and drummer Vinny Johnson.

Manhattan Melody pares Davis to a pianoless quartet setting with electronic percussion, changing vamps, and sharp theme turns. The title track sets the album’s city-named design inside a broad opening statement.

“Bleeker Street” jitters through strange electronic programming while the saxophone line bursts above the track. “Jungle,” “Thirtyfourth Street,” “The I Man,” and “Soho Dancer” keep the album inside quick urban sketches, with brass and reed lines cutting across the programmed underlay.

A1. “Manhattan Melody” (7:05) – Davis
A2. “Subway Blues” (3:35) – Davis
A3. “Bleecker Street” (4:05) – Davis
A4. “Jungle” (3:48) – Stoermer

B1. “Thirtyfourth Street” (3:57) – Stoermer, Davis
B2. “Sweet Basil” (7:46) – Davis
B3. “The I Man” (3:18) – Davis
B4. “Soho Dancer” (4:47) – Davis

Davis recorded Manhattan Melody at A&R Studio in New York during May 31 and June 1, 1988 sessions. Horst Weber produced the album.

The CD version adds “Gemini Rug” as the ninth track.

Isis Voyage

In 2014, archivists Cultures of Soul issued Isis Voyage: Unreleased Music & Alternative Mixes From the Brighter Days Sessions., comprised of long-vaulted tracks by Stanton Davis’ Ghetto/Mysticism.

Isis Voyage expands the Brighter Days session material into longer edits, instrumental versions, unreleased pieces, and later remix work.

“Delta Six / Brighter Days” links the brighter vocal-side material to a broader electric setting. “Funky Fried Tofu” and “Things Cannot Stop Forever” appear as instrumental versions, which leave their rhythm figures, clavinet bite, and synth wash closer to the surface.

“High Jazz” and “High Jazz Reprise” stretch beyond the original album edits and make the repeated voice chants more central. “Isis Voyage” and “Odwalla” add unreleased long-form pieces from the same session orbit. “Space-A-Nova” returns in an alternate version with the album’s electronic haze intact.

A1. “Delta Six / Brighter Days (Unreleased Version)” (7:48)
A2. “Funky Fried Tofu (Alternative Instrumental Version)” (5:54)
A3. “Things Cannot Stop Forever (Alternative Instrumental Version)” (6:15)
B1. “High Jazz (Alternative Version)” (11:35)
B2. “Isis Voyage (Previously Unreleased)” (10:07)
C1. “High Jazz Reprise (Alternative Version)” (5:37)
C2. “Odwalla (Previously Unreleased)” (8:20)
D1. “Space-A-Nova (Alternative Version)” (5:31)
D2. “Things Cannot Stop Forever (Al Kent Version)” (8:18)
D3. “High Jazz (Al Kent Version)” (8:09)

Davis and Cultures of Soul label head Deano Sounds returned to the original multitrack reel-to-reel tapes for October 2012 mixdowns.

Discography:

Brighter Days (1977 • Stanton Davis’ Ghetto Mysticism)
Manhattan Melody (1988)
Isis Voyage: Unreleased Music & Alternative Mixes From the Brighter Days Sessions (2014, recorded 1977 • Stanton Davis and The Ghetto Mysticism Band)

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