Written by: Alex Green

Esteemed drummer Dennis Davis has died.

Details are few, but Davis had been battling cancer and was undergoing treatment for the disease.

Davis is known for playing on all seven albums of Bowie’s recorded output from 1975-1980, as well as being part of Bowie’s touring band.

Born in New York, Davis worked under the tutelage of Max Roach and Elvin Jones. An in-demand session player, Davis also played on albums by Iggy Pop, George Benson and Stevie Wonder.

He returned to the Bowie fold in 2000, playing percussion with the singer all the way up to the A Reality Tour in 2003.

Coincidentally, Sterling Campbell who was the drummer for the 2003 tour had been one of Davis’ pupils.

Longtime Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti posted this message about Davis: “Dennis Davis has passed away. He was one of the most creative drummers I have ever worked with. He came into David Bowie’s life when we recorded some extra tracks for Young Americans and stayed with us through Scary Monsters and beyond. He was a disciplined jazz drummer who tore into Rock with a Jazz sensibility. Listen to the drum breaks on Black Out from the Heroes album. He had a conga drum as part of his set up and he made it sound like two musicians were playing drums and congas. By Scary Monsters he was playing parts that were unthinkable but they fit in so perfectly. His sense of humor was wonderful. As an ex member of the US Air Force he told us stories of seeing a crashed UFO first hand by accidentally walking through an unauthorized hanger. There will never be another drummer, human being and friend like Dennis, a magical man.”