Davies she was also one half of a partnership which saw the classic early jazz discography preserved both comprehensively and to incomparable quality, notably via John’s ‘Retrieval’ labels. As the lifelong supportive partner of the great musician and record producer John R.T.

Apart from being a visionary she was a woman of truly outstanding qualities – grace, generosity and a personal dignity matched by an equally profound warmth of spirit. That remarkable story is well told in obituaries and tributes:ĭigby Fairweather writes: I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sue Davies. 5) Great Newport Street to get off the ground. It was her vision and persuasiveness that enabled the pioneering Photographers’ Gallery at No.

It must be said, however, that in the context of Sue’s career this achievement arguably pales into insignificance. Photo copyright Chris Steele-Perkins and reproduced courtesy of the family with his permission. Sue Davies at the Photographers’ Gallery in 1980. Sue and I did work together to make it happen, but it was above all her connections – such as Dan Morgenstern of Rutgers who wrote in support – her clear-thinking and her sense of purpose, and also the kindly agency of Professor William Brooks and others, which ensured that the collection, consisting of nearly 20,000 fragile 78rpm records plus LPs, ended up being shipped safely by van to the Borthwick Institute on the York University campus, where it remains ( LINK). The family had made the courageous decision to bequeath the collection to an institution that would keep access to it available to collectors and scholars, and Digby thought that, somehow, I might be able to help. In their barn in Burnham in Buckinghamshire was one of the most important collections of pre-war jazz in the world. Her late husband was John RT Davies, a member of the Temperance Seven and a world authority on the remastering of classic jazz recordings. Sue Davies, who passed away peacefully from cancer on 18 April 2020, four days after her 87th birthday, had been widowed in 2004. In 2005, Digby Fairweather introduced me to a quite remarkable person.

Amazing Grace by Elizabeth Davies