David Davis, The US pianist and singer performing with his band members at the Qs bar at the Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
David Davis, The US pianist and singer performing with his band members at the Qs bar at the Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
David Davis, The US pianist and singer performing with his band members at the Qs bar at the Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
David Davis, The US pianist and singer performing with his band members at the Qs bar at the Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mirroring The Beatles: a new jazz prodigy’s residency in Dubai


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

If you watched the revealing Netflix music documentary Quincy, based on the life of legendary music producer Quincy Jones, then you'd know that no matter how forward-thinking he is, Jones retains an indomitable old-school work ethic and believes that songwriting and musicianship can only improve through practice. That outlook pervades his music venue, Q's Bar and Lounge, his first jazz bar set in Dubai's Palazzo Versace hotel.

It's a rarity in today's music scene. Where residencies have become almost a tourism ploy, with everyone from Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga, to Lionel Richie and Britney Spears, all signing on for seasons in Las Vegas, Jones approaches gigs in the same way they were used in the 1950s and 1960s – as a way to discover and build new talent.

Ever since the venue opened in 2017, Jones has personally picked up-and-coming artists to perform, with the hope that their rough edges will be smoothed out on the back of the 100-plus shows they play in Dubai. The latest beneficiary of this approach is David Davis. Since his debut show on January 22, the American soul singer, 27, has been gradually amassing his own fan base in the UAE, with his thrice-nightly slick sets of original compositions and pop and RnB classics.

"Listen, finding an opportunity like this is fantastic and unique," Davis tells The National. "And if you know your music history, you will appreciate that a lot of today's legacy acts got their start doing residencies. The best example I can give you is The Beatles, they were playing residencies in Hamburg for years and that's because their contracts kept extending. What residencies do is give you a chance to dig deeper into your craft and find out who you really are as a singer."

It's a personal and artistic quest that came to a head for Davis two years ago. At that point he was part of the US pop-music duo DNK, who were making waves in the industry due to their music being produced by RedOne, the Moroccan-Swedish producer behind Lady Gaga's hits Poker Face and Just Dance.

The music RedOne made for the band was understandably upbeat, euphoric and made for the dance floor. But while appreciating the technical virtuosity involved, Davis felt his heart wasn't in it anymore. "I spent a year with RedOne and he is really one of the nicest and coolest guys out there. I learnt how pop music functions and I was in that system," he says. "But there came a time where I felt the music wasn't really speaking to me."

This resulted in the group taking a hiatus before the eventual split. With Davis a known songwriter in his own right, having penned unused tracks for Maroon 5 and Nick Jonas, he was not short of offers to re-enter the pop music field as a solo act. Instead, though, he chose to completely remove himself from the main industry players and play to his own strengths. The end result is the solid debut album The Long and Short of It. Released last year, it is a tidy and lovingly self-produced record full of perky soul numbers and swooning balladry. And the lead single, Little Mo'Betta is simply fantastic. Powered by an assertive Mowtown groove, the song is a euphoric ode to self-confidence in the wake of heart break.

It is something Bruno Mars or ­Maroon 5 could have sung and experienced immediate chart success with. Was it a wise idea for Davis not to have given this song away? "Here is how I look at it. I am doing this all from a long-term perspective," he says. "When I made this album, I didn't want to live in a world where other people's definitions of success would make me happy. So I decided to create a body of work that would attract the appropriate partners and the fans who have followed me since my time with the group."  

The Hamburg years in Dubai

And that vision is bearing fruit: unbeknownst to him, a member of Quincy Jones's production company was in the audience of a Los Angeles gig Davis played last year. The offer to play in Dubai came not long after that. And now with Davis in the "Hamburg" phase of his burgeoning solo career, he is welcoming all the challenges that are coming his way. "I am in this to create a legacy and bodies of work," he says.

"If that happens soon and people appreciate it on a Bruno Mars level, then that's great. If it takes longer, that is fine, too. I will still continue to write songs that I find true to me."

David Davis performs at Q’s Bar and Lounge at Palazzo Versace Dubai, Tuesdays to Saturdays, until May 2. Doors are open from 7pm. For reservations, call 04 556 8888 or email qs@palazzoversace.ae

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

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%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

New schools in Dubai
Scorline

Iraq 1-0 UAE

Iraq Hussein 28’

RESULT

Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)

Need to know

When: October 17 until November 10

Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration

Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center

What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.

For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com

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About RuPay

A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank

RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards

It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.

In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments

The name blends two words rupee and payment

Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs

UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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