He has also worked in radio and film, and taught courses on Jazz and Blues at the University of Pennsylvania.
[2] Along with his jazz writing he has tackled a wide variety of subjects, such as Seinfeld and Johnny Cash, for whom he published what many fans consider the definitive appreciation, in The Atlantic Monthly.
Davis is characterized by his keen insights into the development of American style and culture, with asides in the first person who balance his theoretical certainty and a witty, human element.
Over the past few decades he has sat with Betty Carter, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Sun Ra, and the late New Yorker film critic, Pauline Kael, after whose lengthy discussions Davis penned, Afterglow: A Last Conversation with Pauline Kael.
[4] Davis lives in Philadelphia and is married to Terry Gross, producer and host of the NPR program Fresh Air.