Biography
Ernie Watts took part in numerous commercial recording sessions from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s and continued to do so on an occasional basis afterward, which prompted some observers to dismiss him too quickly as a pop and R&B tenor saxophonist. His chief inspiration, however, has remained John Coltrane throughout his career, and later performances established him as a powerful and commanding jazz improviser who forged an individual sheets-of-sound method together with a personal, deeply soulful tone. After completing his studies at Berklee, he spent a notable period with Buddy Rich’s big band from 1966 to 1968 before settling in Los Angeles. There he performed with the large ensembles of Oliver Nelson and Gerald Wilson, appeared on a 1969 recording with Jean-Luc Ponty, and served as a staff musician for NBC, appearing regularly with the Tonight Show Band. His own albums from the 1970s and early 1980s leaned heavily toward pop material, including the strong-selling 1982 release Chariots of Fire, while he worked often alongside Lee Ritenour and Stanley Clarke and recorded in 1972 with Cannonball Adderley, one of his idols. Beginning in the mid-1980s, though, his output grew far more substantial from a jazz perspective once he joined Charlie Haden’s Quartet West and began producing direct, unadorned quartet sessions for JVC. Over time Watts has become one of the most commanding tenor saxophonists, displaying complete command of his instrument and the ability to deliver intensity and passion, along with taste, in any setting.
Albums
