Bringing New Orleans-tinged blues and jazz to the live music capital of the world, US-born singer-songwriter Presley Davis Jr. is set to mark his debut performance at famed Melbourne jazz club The Count’s.
Performing with singer and multi-instrumentalist Claire Patti, Davis, Jr. will earn his place among the list of jazz legends to have performed at The Count’s on 12 March 2025.
With its indoor and outdoor dining areas, cosy interior (there’s not a bad seat in the house) and upscale Italian-inspired eatery and bar, The Count’s is the perfect setting for this intimate event.
Presley Davis Jr.
- 12 March 2025
- The Count’s
- Tickets are on sale now
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Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, he moved to Melbourne 22 years ago. Despite being on the other side of the world, he has never forgotten where he’s come from. Davis, Jr.’s guidance toward a passion for music was the result both of his upbringing and the sense of isolation he experienced growing up in small-town Indiana.
“My dad was an avid tin-pan alley, early jazz player,” he says. “Played tenor banjo, guitar, sang… I’ve got an older brother who’s a real good tenor banjo player,” he says. “Being in a smaller town versus a big city, I guess we needed more to do.”
It was his friends within the Melbourne music scene that first drew Presley’s attention toward The Count’s. Recent performances that caught his interest include pianist Damon Smith, “so it’s been on my radar for a while,” he admits.
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Having flexed creative muscles in more of a blues-centric vein, Davis Jr. had a keen interest in exploring more of his artistic range. Jazz, in particular, has always been a focus point, having played in this style of music since he was ten years old.
“I was looking for opportunities to pursue more of my jazz side,” he reflects. “I’ve played those sorts of shows with other people but never actually promoted myself as a jazz artist. I wanted an opportunity to play at The Count’s – I mean, that’s a great venue and a great opportunity to showcase what I’ve been practising for so many years.”
As for his own versatile musical identity, melding flavours of country, blues, and jazz, Presley attests there’s plenty of overlap. Showcasing this varied artistic background within a famed jazz venue such as The Count’s is of particular appeal to Presley ahead of his upcoming performance.
Specifically within funk – he’s a huge fan and keenly associates his own musical stylings to this subgenre – “there’s tonnes of jazz chords and time signatures in funk. It’s funny, I started on jazz as a kid, so I’ve been singing all those songs for ages and ages. At the time, I guess I didn’t realise that it was jazz – it was just what dad played.”
As Presley developed as an artist and came to define his own personal style, he came to recognise the influence of his early exposure to jazz and appreciate the effect it had on him.
Yet he has always returned to the tin-pan alley roots instilled in him by his father. “You know, it’s hard to believe some of these songs were pop songs, back in the day,” he says, speaking to the immense reach and popularity of this makeshift style of music in the early 20th century.
In the two decades since Presley arrived on the east coast of Australia, he has found Melbourne’s live music scene to be a continuous source of inspiration. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl stands as a highlight, as does the Arts Centre given Presley’s confessed love of orchestral music.
Yet he retains strong affections for “the smaller, more intimate” venues that allow for closer engagement with the crowd. “The Drunken Poet is a personal favourite of mine,” he says. “Siobhan down there is an absolute angel; she puts on live music seven nights a week, which is fantastic.”
Presley says live music performers are spoilt for choice in Melbourne, with the abundance of venues presenting new and emerging talent. Speaking of his upcoming set at The Count’s, he hopes audiences will connect with his tin-pan alley beginnings and discover something unique.
“Bringing back those songs that people’s parents were a big fan of,” he ponders, “you just don’t hear those songs any more. When people play jazz, it tends to be more contemporary jazz… I probably play a lot of stuff from the ’20s! I’m bringing back some of those older songs that maybe people haven’t heard in a while and I’m giving them a fresh face.”
Davis, Jr. is just one of a host of top-tier performers seen at The Count’s this coming March. Acclaimed Australian jazz pianist Ted Nettlebeck will be taking the stage on 19 March, and Jazz singer Nichaud Fitzgibbon will be charming audiences on 26 March.
For lovers of live music, The Count’s remains one of the leading lights in Melbourne’s vibrant arts and culture scene.
This article was made in partnership with The Count’s.
