"A good way to gauge Davies’ drumming in isolation is through the solo drum performance “prelude. Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon.” She demonstrates a mastery of drums that goes well beyond technique; she is able to tell a story with it." - S. Victor Aaron, Something Else! Billie Davies is a drummer and composer best known for her free, instinctively avant-garde compositions since the mid nineties, and her improvisational drumming techniques she has performed in Europe and in the US. All of her music is improvisational ... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community. "I want to play as if I never played my instrument before, as if every time is the first time and I want to end up with music that is not written down but is felt and expressed at that moment of playing, of recording, of performing. This deliberate moment of choices, chances and inspirations may become a specific type of music, but it never ends up being predetermined or planned music, the notes played are never written down. I just want to end up with something where I hear unexpected, emotional, passionate, challenging music never heard before." Billie Davies. "Billie Davies' work reminds you of many different things but in the end, it is its own original beast, as powerful as anything more well-known musicians have created..." (Jerome Wilson - All About Jazz). Her 2012 release of “all about Love” solidified her position as a professional jazz musician. This recording of standards and original music, charted #1 in CMJ Jazz College Radio Charts for ‘top jazz add’ in new albums and went on to stay in the top 20 for 4 weeks. Also well received in Canada, the album ended up in the Top 10 on three different !Earshot Jazz charts. In October, 2013 Billie released “12 VOLT” which garnered national and international attention. CJ Bond, JAZZ MUSIC, wrote, “12 VOLT” adds the crucial tyne of 'composer/arranger' to her sterling artistic fork, augmenting fearless innovation. Jan Hocek of His Voice in Prague wrote:”Without hesitation - HIGH VOLTAGE avant-garde JAZZ - one of the most remarkable trio albums of the year!" In 2013 Billie Davies received the "Jazz Artist of the Year" Award by the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards. In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans. She received more attention due to a player feature in Downbeat Magazine May 2016 edition, "BILLIE DAVIES '20 Years Stronger'" after releasing "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon" in 2015. "On Hollywood Boulevard", her CD released in 2016 became a January 2017 Editor's Pick on DownBeat.com. December 2017 Billie Davies was nominated for "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" in New Orleans by Best Of The Beat and in 2019 they nominated her for "Best Drummer". In 2022 she made a permanent move to south Florida. “There is total commitment to musical improvisation and, as is also the case with so much of her work, the resulting sound has such unity of purpose that it feels as if all the players must be working from charts rather than spontaneously creating the pieces.” (Chris Baber - Jazz Views) BIO Aged 25 Davies started the transition to become a professional musician playing and performing all over Europe for the next 7 years. At a crossroads in her musical career, in 1984, while living in the South of France, Billie ended up receiving a grant from Max Roach to study at Berklee College of Music, this was after he heard one of her tapes she laid down with a bass player she met in Montpellier. Billie was however having too much fun in the Mediterranean, living the life of a gypsy jazz musician and therefore decided not to take the offer. In Max Roach's words: "Hearing from your tape, you could learn more fundamental drumming techniques, but I also hear the natural drummer, so my advice is for you not to worry too much about your technical skill, you will develop your own, I can definitely hear that, but just in case that you might want to study in a good program, please accept my invitation in the form of a talent grant to come study at the Berklee College of Music, all you need to worry about is finding a place to live and some money to survive". A move to the United States at 32 gave her an opportunity to play the west coast. In 1987 in Portland, she met and played with Leroy Vinegar, and then later in early 1988 she moved to San Francisco where she was mostly active in North Beach and in the Lower-Haight district, where she ended up playing with local jazz notables at their unforgiving jams, in her words: the best learning school she ever had. In the mid-nineties she recorded "Cobra Basemento", the infamous boombox recordings. They were digitaly preserved in 2004. In 2009 she moved to Hollywood, CA and released "all about Love." with Tom Bone Ralls and Oliver Steinberg in 2012 and "12 VOLT" with Daniel Coffeng and Adam Levy in 2013. In 2013 the 23rd annual Los Angeles Music Awards awarded her best Jazz Artist. In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans and released "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon", with Evan Oberla, Alex Blaine, Branden Lewis and Ed Strohsahl, "On Hollywood Boulevard" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson and Iris P and "Perspectives" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson, Ari Kohn, Iris P and Allie Porter. In 2020 she recorded Whadeva with Damani Butler and Maude Caillat. In 2021 Billie Davies started a project, "Music for the 24th century", a study was recorded which she called "Pandemos" with Branden Lewis and Damani Butler. In 2024 she released the album "On Hollywood Boulevard (Live at The Mint in New Orleans)" from a live performance recording in 2017 with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson and Iris P and the single "Thinking of Marie Laveau" from a 2016 recording with Evan Oberla and Oliver Watkinson. April 20, 2025 she releases "Retrospectives (In The Key Of Jazz)"