Jose Davila grew up on the American East Coast and studied music at the University of Connecticut and the Mannes College of Music. He then worked in the New York music scene in traditional and contemporary jazz, salsa, and classical music. He was a member of Henry Threadgill's group Zooid (Up Popped the Two Lips, 2001); he also worked with Liberty Ellman and Steve Lehman. He also participated in the Grammy-nominated salsa recordings of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (Un Gran Dia en el Barrio) and the Soneros del Barrio (Remembranzas and Siguendo la Tradicion).

In 1985, he performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival with the band Orange Then Blue. Over the course of his career, Davila has also played in the bands of Ray Charles, Andrew Hill, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Anderson, Butch Morris, and Ted Nash, as well as the Lincoln Center Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, the American Symphony, and the New York City Opera Orchestra. In the field of jazz, he participated in 12 recording sessions between 1995 and 2010, including those with Norah Jones (Not Too Late, 2006), Erika Stucky, and Anthony Braxton (Composition No. 19 For 100 Tubas).