may 13.2000»
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|gl
ost couples have their favorite love
M l song, a tune that recalls the time they
| jf | met or a special time they shared
I together. But composer Jeffrey Davis
wasn’t content to share someone else’s music
with his life partner, David Dale, so he wrote
his own.
In 1993, Davis and Dale had been together
for a little less than two years when Dale was
called away for a family obligation. Since Davis
couldn’t accompany him, he stayed at home
and began to express his feelings about his
partner in music.
“I sat down at the piano and played,” he
says, “just pouring out different feelings that I
had. Something would come over me and it
just flowed. Thinking of him, it worked.”
Davis recorded his prolific session on a
boom box and retooled it over the following
days. His brother was the first to suggest a pro
fessional recording of the music, after originally
thinking the audio tape was a performance by
popular New Age artist Yanni.
Thanks to a friend at the Piedmont Presby
terian Church, Davis got access to a Kurzweil
organ, an instrument that not only mimicks
the sound of a grand piano, but also includes
orchestral replications of strings and flutes.
“They let me have a key so 1 could sit in
there at night and play,” he grins.
Davis was able to record the music on a
computer floppy disk and eventually transfer
it to C D in a recording studio.
The 36-year-old Davis’ extraordi
nary talent at the keyboard manifest
ed itself at an early age. Bom in
Auburn, Calif., he began playing
piano at the age of 6— the same
time he began discovering he
liked boys much better than
girls. Following a childhood
injury and a brief coma, Davis
became a prodigy of sorts— he
could listen to a song on the
radio and play it hack almost
perfectly, although he couldn’t
read music.
“1 play by reading the chart
chords with the left hand and
embellishing everything else with
the right hand,” he admits.
W hile attending high school in
Salem, Ore., Davis was chosen to play
for America’s Youth in Concert at the
prestigious Carnegie Hall. He toured with
that concert group in London, Paris, Venice
and Rome before returning to Salem for his
graduation. Shortly afterward, he moved to
Portland, where he played special engagements
for Meier & Frank and the Galleria. In 1985
he joined the Portland Gay M en’s Chorus as
Music in the key of love
Portland composer and musician
Jeffrey Davis plays from the heart
by
A ndy M angels
Top: Jeffrey Davis looking sharp
while tickling the ivories; above: a more
casual Davis (right) with his partner
and inspiration, David Dale
both a singer and an
accompanist.
When Davis met
Dale, the man who would
become his partner had
been living with AIDS
for seven years.
“When I first met
David, I thought he was
going to die tomorrow,”
Davis says soberly.
Then Davis was diag
nosed as HIV-positive on
his birthday in 1995.
“It was through time
that it became easier to
say, ‘He’s surviving, and
there’s another way that
we can go,’ ” Davis
explains.
At Davis and Dale’s
commitment ceremony,
Dale’s sister told them
that “our problems are
halved when we’re together, and the good
things are doubled by being together. It’s that
sort of premise that we live with,” says Dale.
He acknowledges
that the music helps
him survive: “His
music has made
me better and
more well.... I’m
getting better
and feel better
than I have in
years past.”
In March
1999, Davis
released the CD he
had written for
Dale, titled A Little
Night Music. Ten of the
11 tracks are original
instrumental compositions,
and one tune is a standard
reinterpreted. As the liner
notes show, many of the
pieces are for Dale, and the
compositions range from
classical pieces to ragtime
to light jazz. One number
is called “Rage & Remem-
France,” which is Davis’ expression of the
stages of dealing with life with AIDS.
“Through every one of these songs, 1 picture
David,” the pianist says. “These songs make me
think of everything that has happened up till
now, and everything that can happen from
here on out. I’m very proud that there is a song
called ‘David’ at the beginning and at the end.
One does the past, and one does the future.”
Davis and Dale have recently been explor
ing the idea of moving to the Hollywood area,
where Davis would like to get involved in com
posing for film and television. He jokes that he
might like to become “the next Vonda Shep
herd,” referring to Ally McBeal's ever-present
chanteuse.
Meanwhile, he’s planning a holiday C D and
composing a commitment song and more
music about survival.
“W e’ll see where the next step will take us,”
he says, his hand grasping the hand of his lover
next to him.
■ A L ittle N ight M usic is available in Port
land at Rainbows and G ai-Pied and in Salem at
C orky’s Daughter. You can order it by mail from
Davis, 945 N .W . N aito Parkway, #323, Port
land, OR 97209; from D pianom an69@ aol.com ;
or from (503) 973-5599. A portion o f all proceeds
goes to Esther's Pantry.
J effrey D avis will be performing at the dinner
for the upcoming Beards & Roses W eekend spon
sored by the Oregon Bears in early Ju n e, and he is
available for private occasions and commitment
ceremonies.
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