Kate Davis

Kate Davis

Kate Davis is an American singer, songwriter and bassist from Portland, Oregon, with roots in the New York music scene. She performs as a multi-instrumentalist and singer, and she is associated with the pop genre. She is also linked with The Ladybugs and releases music through Kate Davis Music and Primary Wave.

Early life and musical development

Davis is born in 1991 and grows up in West Linn, Oregon. She begins playing violin at the age of five, and that instrument serves as her early musical outlet. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, she encounters the local jazz scene, which leads her toward upright bass and vocals as her main rhythmic and melodic focus.

A supportive Portland music community helps shape her career, encouraging her to perform and develop her skills. She later becomes known for combining singing with bass playing and other instrumental work.

Recognition and training

While in high school, Davis receives several honours. She wins a YoungARTS silver award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, receives four DownBeat Magazine Student Awards, and is invited twice to the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony. She also plays bass in the Grammy Jazz Ensemble.

She is selected as a Presidential Scholar of the Arts, which leads to a visit to the White House and a performance at the Kennedy Center. She also receives another DownBeat recognition for an arrangement of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances.

Recording and repertoire

Davis begins composing, writing and arranging her own material, and she also arranges tracks on her records. Her albums include Introducing Kate Davis, A Kate Davis Holiday, Live at Jimmy Mak's and Trophy.

In 2014, MTV names her one of its “Fifteen Fresh Females to Rule Pop.”