Ernie Watts
Encyclopedia
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz
and rhythm and blues
musician. He plays saxophone
(tenor
, alto
and soprano
) and flute
. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden
's Quartet West and his Grammy Award
s as an instrumentalist. He has also toured with The Rolling Stones
, joining them on their 1981 tour and also appearing with them in the 1982 film Let's Spend the Night Together (film)
.
He is noted for playing "The Mystery Horn" (actually a Conn
straight-necked C Melody Saxophone
) solo on Frank Zappa
's album The Grand Wazoo
in 1972.
, Virginia
. He began playing saxophone at thirteen and later attended the Berklee College of Music
on a Downbeat scholarship, after a brief period at West Chester University. He toured with Buddy Rich
in the mid-1960s, occupying one of the alto saxophone chairs, with Lou Marini
occupying the other. Later, he visited Africa on a US State Department tour with Oliver Nelson
's group. Watts also played tenor saxophone with The Tonight Show Band
under Doc Severinsen
for 20 years. He also was a featured soloist on many of Marvin Gaye
's original albums on Motown
during the 1970s, as well as on many other pop and r&b sessions during 25 years as a first-call musician in the studios in LA. He has won two Grammy Award
s as an instrumentalist.
In the mid-1980s Watts decided to rededicate himself to jazz. He recorded and toured with German guitarist and composer Torsten de Winkel
, drummer Steve Smith
and keyboardist Tom Coster
. He was invited to join bassist Charlie Haden
's Quartet West. Watts and Haden met when Haden heard Ernie play the Michel Columbier piece Nightbird (written for Watts) at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and Haden came backstage to meet Watts . Watts had earlier played the saxophone on the Grease
soundtrack
and clarinet
on The Color Purple
. He also played the saxophone on the opening theme song of the popular 80s sitcom Night Court
.
Ernie Watts was also featured in the Windows XP
edition Jazz preview. The song he was featured in was "Highway Blues". He plays black-lacquered Keilwerth SX90R saxophones, one of which can clearly be seen in the cover photograph of his 1995 "Unity" recording.
In early 2008, Watts' Analog Man on his own label Flying Dolphin Records won the award in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards
for Best Jazz Album.
Recently he has recorded a new Quartet West album with Charlie Haden, and also works with vocalist Kurt Elling, whose album Dedicated To You, featuring Watts, won a Grammy in 2010 for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
He tours Europe twice a year with his own Ernie Watts Quartet, and is often a featured artist in Asia, as well as in summer jazz festivals the world over. His record company Flying Dolphin Records produces his own music with his US quartet as well as his European band.
With Paul Anka
With Willie Bobo
With Donald Byrd
With Stanley Clarke
With Billy Cobham
With Randy Crawford
With Torsten de Winkel
and Hellmut Hattler
With Marvin Gaye
With Charlie Haden
With Bobby Hutcherson
With Carole King
With John Mayall
With Blue Mitchell
With Moacir Santos
With New Stories
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musician. He plays saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, alto
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and soprano
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
) and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
's Quartet West and his Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s as an instrumentalist. He has also toured with The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, joining them on their 1981 tour and also appearing with them in the 1982 film Let's Spend the Night Together (film)
Let's Spend the Night Together (film)
Let's Spend the Night Together is a live concert film, documenting The Rolling Stones' 1981 North American Tour. It was directed by Hal Ashby, and released to cinemas in 1983, then subsequently released on VHS...
.
He is noted for playing "The Mystery Horn" (actually a Conn
C. G. Conn
C.G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, was a United States manufacturer of musical instruments, especially brass instruments. In 1985 their Strobotuner division was bought by Peterson Electro-Musical Products, who continue to service their line of products.Assets...
straight-necked C Melody Saxophone
C melody saxophone
The C melody saxophone is a saxophone pitched in the key of C, one whole step above the tenor saxophone. In the UK it is sometimes referred to as a "C tenor", and in France as a "tenor en ut". The C melody was part of the series of saxophones pitched in C and F, intended by the instrument's...
) solo on Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's album The Grand Wazoo
The Grand Wazoo
The Grand Wazoo is a 1972 jazz fusion album by Frank Zappa. Composed and recorded during Zappa's period of convalescence following his assault in London, the album, along with its "twin brother" Waka/Jawaka, represent Zappa's foray into big band fusion, the logical progression from Hot Rats, which...
in 1972.
Biography
Watts was born in NorfolkNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He began playing saxophone at thirteen and later attended the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
on a Downbeat scholarship, after a brief period at West Chester University. He toured with Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
in the mid-1960s, occupying one of the alto saxophone chairs, with Lou Marini
Lou Marini
Lou Marini, Jr. is an American saxophonist, arranger and composer. He is noted for his work in the jazz, rock, blues and soul music traditions.-Early life and range of musical experience:...
occupying the other. Later, he visited Africa on a US State Department tour with Oliver Nelson
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer.-Early life and career:...
's group. Watts also played tenor saxophone with The Tonight Show Band
The Tonight Show Band
The Tonight Show Band is the band which plays on the American television variety show, The Tonight Show. From 1962 to the 1990s, during the years the show was known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the band was a 17-piece Big Band, and was an important outlet for jazz on American...
under Doc Severinsen
Doc Severinsen
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. He is best known for leading the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.-Early life:...
for 20 years. He also was a featured soloist on many of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's original albums on Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
during the 1970s, as well as on many other pop and r&b sessions during 25 years as a first-call musician in the studios in LA. He has won two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s as an instrumentalist.
In the mid-1980s Watts decided to rededicate himself to jazz. He recorded and toured with German guitarist and composer Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel is a German musician and composer primarily active in the jazz and world music genres...
, drummer Steve Smith
Steve Smith (musician)
Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
and keyboardist Tom Coster
Tom Coster
Tom Coster is an American keyboardist and composer. Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies through college and a productive five-year stint as a musician in the U.S...
. He was invited to join bassist Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
's Quartet West. Watts and Haden met when Haden heard Ernie play the Michel Columbier piece Nightbird (written for Watts) at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and Haden came backstage to meet Watts . Watts had earlier played the saxophone on the Grease
Grease (soundtrack album)
Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease released by Polydor Records. The song "You're the One That I Want" was a US and UK #1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
on The Color Purple
The Color Purple (film)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director , and was a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous...
. He also played the saxophone on the opening theme song of the popular 80s sitcom Night Court
Night Court
Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
.
Ernie Watts was also featured in the Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
edition Jazz preview. The song he was featured in was "Highway Blues". He plays black-lacquered Keilwerth SX90R saxophones, one of which can clearly be seen in the cover photograph of his 1995 "Unity" recording.
In early 2008, Watts' Analog Man on his own label Flying Dolphin Records won the award in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
for Best Jazz Album.
Recently he has recorded a new Quartet West album with Charlie Haden, and also works with vocalist Kurt Elling, whose album Dedicated To You, featuring Watts, won a Grammy in 2010 for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
He tours Europe twice a year with his own Ernie Watts Quartet, and is often a featured artist in Asia, as well as in summer jazz festivals the world over. His record company Flying Dolphin Records produces his own music with his US quartet as well as his European band.
As leader
- The Wonder Bag (Vault, 1972)
- Look In Your Heart (Elektra, 1980)
- Chariots Of Fire (Qwest, 1982)
- Musician (Qwest, 1985)
- Sanctuary (Qwest, 1986)
- The Ernie Watts Quartet (JVC, 1987 [1991])
- Afoxe with Gilberto GilGilberto GilGilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
(CTI, 1991) - Reaching Up (JVC, 1994)
- Unity (JVC, 1995)
- Long Road Home (JVC, 1996)
- Classic Moods (JVC, 1998)
- Reflections with Ron Feuer (Flying Dolphin, 2000)
- Alive (Flying Dolphin, 2004)
- Spirit Song (Flying Dolphin, 2005)
- Analog Man (Flying Dolphin, 2006)
- To The Point (Flying Dolphin, 2007)
- Four Plus Four (Flying Dolphin, 2009)
- Oasis (Flying Dolphin, 2011)
As sideman
With Billy Alessi and Bobby Alessi- Words and Music (A&M, 1979)
- Long Time Friends (Qwest, 1982)
With Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
- Walk a Fine Line (CBS, 1983)
With Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo
Willie Bobo was the stage name of William Correa , an American jazz percussionist.-Biography:William Correa grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument...
- Tomorrow Is HereTomorrow Is HereTomorrow Is Here is an album by American jazz percussionist Willie Bobo recorded in late 1976 and early 1977 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Richard S...
(1977)
With Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
- Caricatures (Blue Note, 1976)
With Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
- Time Exposure (CBS, 1984)
With Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
- Inner Conflicts (Atlantic, 1978)
With Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
- Secret Combination (Warner Bros., 1981)
With Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel is a German musician and composer primarily active in the jazz and world music genres...
and Hellmut Hattler
Hellmut Hattler
Hellmut Hattler is a German jazz and bass player. Hattler took much of his influence from Jimi Hendrix. As a child he learned to play the violin, and in the 1960s played the guitar. Joining Peter Wolbrandt's band marked the debut of his changeover to the bass...
- Mastertouch (EMI, 1985)
With Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
- Let's Get It OnLet's Get It OnLet's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
(Tamla, 1973) - I Want You (Tamla, 1976)
With Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
- Quartet WestQuartet WestQuartet West is an album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1986 and released on the Verve label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stacia Proefrock awarded the album 5 stars stating "While the album may not be stretching many boundaries stylistically, this format does little to...
(Verve, 1986) - In Angel CityIn Angel CityIn Angel City is an album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden's Quartet West recorded in 1988 and released on the Verve label.-Reception:...
(Verve, 1988) - The Art of the SongThe Art of the SongThe Art of the Song is an album by American jazz bassist Charlie Haden and Charlie Haden's Quartet West, released in 1999. It reached number ten on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.Quartet West was formed in 1986...
(Verve, 1999)
With Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson
Bobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern...
- Head OnHead On (Bobby Hutcherson album)Head On is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was rereleased on CD with three additional recordings from the sessions as bonus tracks.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1971) - Linger LaneLinger LaneLinger Lane is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1975 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 2 stars....
(Blue Note, 1975) - MontaraMontara (album)Montara is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson recorded in 1975 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "Montara is one of the great feel-good jazz albums of the 1970s, one of the great Latin jazz albums...
(Blue Note, 1975)
With Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
- MusicMusic (Carole King album)Music, official name Carole King: Music, is the third album by American singer-songwriter Carole King. It is a continuation of the style laid down in Tapestry. The album was released in December 1971 and quickly rose to the top of the charts. It features songs such as "It's Going to Take Some Time"...
(Ode, 1971)
With John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
- Moving On (Polydor, 1973)
With Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
- Vital BlueVital BlueVital Blue is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1971 and released on the Mainstream label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "Booty Shakin'" - 5:20...
(Mainstream, 1971)
With Moacir Santos
Moacir Santos
Moacir Santos was a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist and music educator. Baden Powell de Aquino and Wilson das Neves both studied under him...
- Carnival of the SpiritsCarnival of the SpiritsCarnival of the Spirits is an album by Brazilian composer Moacir Santos recorded in 1975 and released on the Blue Note label.-Track listing:# "Quiet Carnival" - 5:52# "Jequie" - 2:53# "Kamba" - 4:30...
(Blue Note, 1975)
With New Stories
- Speakin' Out* (1998)