John R.T. Davies

John R.T. Davies (born John Ross Twiston Davies, on 20 March 1927, in Wivelsfield, Sussex–25 May 2004) was a remastering engineer of classic jazz records. He was also a trombonist, trumpeter and alto saxophonist and a member of the 1960s jazz revival band The Temperance Seven.

For many he was considered "the world's leading specialist in the art of sound restoration," [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-117508644.html] , specifically in regards to jazz and blues existing on pre-magnetic tape media such as shellac 78s. Davies developed numerous methods for restoring old recordings and disliked modern techniques for removing surface noise. The presence of his name on the credit of a reissue is generally considered the mark of a quality product.

Davies was always generous with his time and his collection and wanted it to be available for other people to use for research and reissues after his death. The Borthwick Archive at York University have accepted the entire collection and are housing it in ideal conditions and making a transfer suite available so that his wish can be carried out. The facility is expected to completed in early 2007.

An article telling the story the how the archive ended up at York is at

http://www.jazznotesuk.com/newsitems6.htm