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Mel Davis

American trumpet player, multi-instrumental musician and arranger. Born 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Died December 28, 2004 in in Florida, USA. He also played piano, violin, drums, tuba, bass, accordion and ocarina. He studied music at Curtis Institute and Temple University. He played with the Philadelphia Opera Company and Symphony Orchestra. In 1954 he went to New York, playing whatever jobs came to hand, until 1956, when he joined Benny Goodman's band. Davis became a staff musician at NBC, a position he held for 10 years. During that time, he performed with Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Johnny Carson and many other top stars. He played in the [i]Sesame Street[/i] house band for seventeen years. He was also the owner of Mel’s Place in Baldwin, New York, a jazz club on Long Island.