Jazz, Brazilian, R&B, Gospel, Funk, Fusion, Blues, 20th Century Classical,
’60s & ’70s Pop, Afro-Cuban, Baroque, Rock, Hip-Hop, Folk Blues, Comedy
David’s first musical influences were Methodist hymns, Bob Dylan, Bach, and the Blues.
Along the way David has learned from:
Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, Ahmad Jamal, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Brad Mehldau, Paul Bley, Rhassan Roland Kirk, Charles Lloyd, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Bobo Stenson, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong…
Dr. John, Ray Charles, Howlin’ Wolf, Bessie Smith, Jell Roll Morton, Charles Brown, Johnny Winter, John Mayall, Canned Heat, the Allman Brothers, Professor Longhair, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Paul Butterfield Blues Band…
Weather Report, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, George Duke, Quincy Jones, Jan Hammer, Brian Auger, Wally Badarou, Mike Stern, Marcus Miller, Medeski/Martin/Wood…
Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, the Meters, Art Neville and the Neville Brothers, Rufus, Cold Blood, Allen Toussaint, Billy Preston, James Brown, Chester Thompson & Tower of Power…
Clare Fischer, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Hermeto Pascaol, Eliane Elias, Airto, Milton Nasciemento, Chucho Valdez, Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stefano Bollini…
Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Paul Simon, the Who, Jeff Beck, Edgar Winter, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Radiohead, Talking Heads, Santana, the Animals, Cream…
Johann Sebastion Bach, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Serge Prokofiev, Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel, Alexander Scriabin, Hector Villa Lobos, Modest Mussorsky…
Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice T, Public Enemy, Timbaland, the Neptunes, Material, Mystikal, Ludacris, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Digible Planets…
Reverend Gary Davis, Lead Belly, Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, John Hartford, The Staple Singers, Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt, Spider John Koerner, Robert Johnson…
George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, Patrice O’Neal, Larry David, Sarah Silverman, Lenny Bruce, R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Mad Magazine, National Lampoon, Reggie Watts…
Favorite singers:
Ray Charles, James Brown, Sly Stone, Zigaboo Modeleste, Dr. John, Chaka Khan, Carmen McCrae, Joe Williams, Mavis Staples, Aretha Franklin, Edgar Winter, Lydia Pense, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Lennie Williams
David also has firm roots in ’60s-’70s TV Theme songs including Bewitched, McHale’s Navy, Mannix, My Three Sons, Leave it to Beaver, Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Wild Wild West, The Odd Couple, Mission Impossible, Get Smart, Sanford & Sons, The Jeffersons, M.A.S.H., Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore, Andy Griffith, Green Acres, The Patty Duke Show, Dobie Gillis, I Dream of Jeanie, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Barney Miller, and Good Times.
Honorable Mention: Bonanza if you include the lyrics: