Trevor Watts

Trevor Watts 2007 (Photo: Shawn Vinson)

Trevor Charles Watts (born February 26, 1939 in York , Great Britain ) is a British jazz musician (woodwind instruments, composition).

Live and act

Raised in a jazz-loving family, Watts first taught himself the cornet from the age of 12 . At the age of 18 he turned to the saxophone . Between 1958 and 1963 he did his military service in Germany and played in a Royal Air Force band (with Paul Rutherford and John Stevens, among others ). After his release he went to London and joined the New Jazz Orchestra , but also played with blues rock musicians such as Rod Stewart and Sonny Boy Williamson II. In 1965 he founded the Spontaneous Music Ensemble with John Stevens , which was an important catalyst for the development of the free Game in Great Britain (and in which he participated until 1974).

In addition, he founded the band Amalgam in 1967 , which increasingly explored the territory between free improvisation and rock-oriented rhythms (with Keith and Julie Tippett , Colin Mackenzie and Liam Genockey, among others ). Since it was founded in 1972, he was a member of the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra , which was increasingly organized by Barry Guy . He also worked with Bobby Bradford (1973), Stan Tracey (1973/74) and Katrina Krimsky . In 1976 he founded the Trevor Watts String Ensemble and in 1978 the Universal Music Group . In 1982 his musical concept changed fundamentally; The improvisations in his large-format Moiré Music and the Moiré Drum Orchestra (with in part 5 drummers from different, primarily African cultures) or the Moiré Trio were based on the structures of overlapping drum patterns. Watts also played in the bands of musicians like Louis Moholo , Archie Shepp , Steve Lacy , Don Cherry , Jayne Cortez , Harry Miller , Luc Mishalle and Tippett. In 2020 Watts released the solo album The Lockdown Solos (Hi 4 Head Records).

Web links

• Bio and discography
• Trevor Watts at Allmusic (English)
• Trevor Watts at Discogs (English)