Les Davis, who died June 20, 2024, in Ocala, FL, one day shy of his 93rd birthday, was a New York radio jazz legend. I remember him most vividly as the morning voice of jazz radio station WRVR-FM, which abruptly ceased operations on September 8, 1980, switching to country music. Davis hosted jazz radio on several other stations, including the legendary WNEW-AM and smooth jazz station, WQCD (CD101.9FM) before moving to Sirius/XM satellite radio, from which he retired in December 2018.
Davis (with Chuck Mangione in photo above) wasn’t a musician, but he had a thorough knowledge of jazz, and he brought it to his listeners in a personal way that made it seem as if he knew them all intimately. When he was hired by CD101.9 in 1991, the announcement said: “If saxophones could talk, they’d sound like Les Davis.”
In the comments section of his official obituary, there are tributes from two of his radio colleagues: Quincy McCoy, who was Program Director of WNEW, and Mark Ruffin, Program Director of Jazz for Sirius/XM.
“I fell in love with my good friend, Les Davis, the preeminent Dean of Jazz Radio when we met at WNEW,” McCoy wrote. “Lester developed his legend as the morning man on WRVR-FM, the city’s first commercial jazz station, and for his live remotes from famous jazz clubs like Greene Street, the Village Vanguard, and the Blue Note. Through his captivating storytelling, he became an ambassador of jazz, sharing true tales and anecdotes that brought the music to life.”
McCoy hired Davis to do weekends at WNEW. “Quickly,” he said, “it expanded to a nightly jazz show.” And, then Davis became host of the “Make Believe Ballroom” for three years. “Our friendship blossomed over the decades,” McCoy added. “I am incredibly fortunate to have shared countless moments with Les, listening to his stories and marveling at his unique perspective on life and jazz. His was the coolest jazz aesthetic God ever created.”
When Ruffin was Director of Jazz for XM Satellite Radio, he inherited the staff of Sirius when the two satellite radio networks merged in July 2008. “Being from Chicago,” Ruffin said, “I knew little about the incredible legacy of Les Davis. Les made the transition easier. He was as smooth and warm a human as his radio voice would suggest.”
Ruffin never replaced Davis when he retired. “Other people did his shifts, but there was no replacing Les. His stories about jazz, the musicians who made the music and the magic city they inhabited enhanced both mine and the listeners’ appreciation of the music . . . an incredible number of people still to this day come up to me to tell me Les Davis jazz stories. He had a million of them.”
Davis is survived by his wife, Darlene, and daughter, Jenny.-SANFORD JOSEPHSON
