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Ernie Watts

{{Short description|American saxophonist (born 1945)}}

{{other people|Ernie Watts}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}

{{BLP sources|date=July 2014}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ernie Watts

| image = Ernie Watts.jpg

| caption = Watts in 2008

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name = Ernest James Watts

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|10|23|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

| genre = Jazz, rhythm and blues

| occupation = Musician

| instrument = Saxophone, flute, clarinet

| years_active = 1960s–present

| label = Motown, Tamla, Atlantic, Warner Bros., A&M, CBS, Qwest

| associated_acts = Charlie Haden, Buddy Rich, The Tonight Show Band, Marvin Gaye, Rolling Stones, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan

| website = {{URL|erniewatts.com}}

}}

Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and R&B saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album The Grand Wazoo he played the "Mystery Horn", a straight-necked C melody saxophone. Watts also played the notable saxophone riff on "The One You Love" from Glenn Frey's album, No Fun Aloud.

Biography

Watts was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and began playing saxophone at 13. After a brief period at West Chester University, he attended the Berklee College of Music on a Down Beat magazine scholarship. He toured with Buddy Rich in the late 1960s, occupying one of the alto saxophone chairs, and visited Africa on a U.S. State Department tour with Oliver Nelson's group.

Watts played alto saxophone with The Tonight Show Band under Doc Severinsen for 20 years and was a member of Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. He was a featured soloist on many of Marvin Gaye's albums on Motown during the 1970s, as well as on many other pop and R&B sessions during his 25 years as a studio musician in Los Angeles. He has won two Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist. In 1978 Watts provided the saxophone solo for Andrew Gold's hit single "Never Let Her Slip Away''.{{cite web|last=Owston |first=Jim |url=http://zeegrooves.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/andrew-gold-rip.html |title=Reading between the Grooves: Andrew Gold R.I.P |website=Zeegrooves.blogspot.co.uk |date=June 11, 2011 |access-date=October 13, 2016}}{{cite web|author= |url=http://labibledelawestcoast.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/andrew-goldthank-you-for-being-friend.html |title=La Bible de la Westcoast Music - Cool Night -: Andrew Gold "Thank You For Being A Friend: The Best Of Andrew Gold" (1997) |website=Labibledelawestcoast.blogspot.co.uk |date= September 11, 2013|access-date=October 13, 2016}}

Watts was added to the lineup of backing musicians on the fifth show of the Rolling Stones American Tour 1981 and was with them until the end of that tour. Throughout the tour, Watts's influence on the Stones' live performance grew significantly, with the Stones jamming longer and longer over tracks such as "Just My Imagination" and "Let Me Go". Watts can be heard on Still Life, the live album recorded during the tour.

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 Charlie Haden's Quartet West; the two met backstage one night after Haden heard Watts play "Nightbird" by Michel Colombier.

Watts also played on soundtracks for the movies Grease and The Color Purple and on the theme song for the TV show Night Court.{{cite web|url=http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/watts-ernie-james-ernest |title=Watts, Ernie (James Ernest) – Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News |website=Jazz.com |date=October 23, 1945 |access-date=2014-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108211834/http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/watts-ernie-james-ernest |archive-date=November 8, 2013 |df=mdy }} In 1982, his version of "Chariots of Fire" was featured in the Season 4 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati ("The Creation of Venus"). He was featured on one of Windows XP's sample tracks, "Highway Blues" by New Stories.{{cite web|url=http://www.erniewatts.com/discography/unity.html |title=The official home page for Ernie Watts |website=Erniewatts.com |access-date=2014-07-17}}

In 1986, Watts visited South America with the Pat Metheny Special Quartet alongside Charlie Haden and Paul Wertico, playing at Shams in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 2008, his album Analog Man won the Independent Music Award for Best Jazz Album.[http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/jukebox2008.asp] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306201430/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/jukebox2008.asp|date=March 6, 2009}} He played on Kurt Elling's album Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman, which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2011.

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File:WiKi ErnieWatts20120825.jpg, Poland, August 2012]]

File:ErnieWatts.jpg, San Francisco, California, 1987]]

Discography

=As leader=

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  • Planet Love (Pacific Jazz, 1969)
  • 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 Gil (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)
  • A Simple Truth (Flying Dolphin, 2014)
  • Wheel of Time (Flying Dolphin, 2016)
  • Home Light (Flying Dolphin, 2018)

With Karma

  • Celebration (Horizon/A&M, 1976)Karma - Celebration (LP liner notes). Horizon/A&M Records. SP-713
  • For Everybody (Horizon/A&M, 1977)Karma - For Everybody (LP liner notes). Horizon/A&M Records. SP-723

{{div col end}}

=As a member =

The GRP All-Star Big Band

The Super Black Blues Band

(With T-Bone Walker, Otis Spann and Joe Turner)

Sergio Mendes

Also, he played saxo in album Confetti (1983)

= As sideman =

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With Billy Alessi and Bobby Alessi

  • Words and Music (A&M, 1979)
  • Long Time Friends (Qwest, 1982)

With Paul Anka

  • The Music Man (United Artists, 1977)
  • Walk a Fine Line (CBS, 1983)

With Patti Austin

With Donald Byrd

With Christopher Cross

With Marvin Gaye

With Charlie Haden

With Bobby Hutcherson

With Quincy Jones

With Carole King

With Teena Marie

With Lee Ritenour

With Boz Scaggs

With Lalo Schifrin

With Frankie Valli

With Deniece Williams

With Gerald Wilson

With Bill Withers

With Betty Wright

  • Betty Wright (Epic, 1981)
  • Wright Back At You (Epic, 1983)

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With others

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References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.erniewatts.com/}}
  • [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/ernie-watts Ernie Watts Interview] NAMM Oral History Library (2020)

{{The Rolling Stones|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Ernie}}

Category:1945 births

Category:Living people

Category:American jazz saxophonists

Category:American male saxophonists

Category:American jazz flautists

Category:Berklee College of Music alumni

Category:Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia

Category:Mainstream Records artists

Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:Qwest Records artists

Category:Independent Music Awards winners

Category:21st-century American saxophonists

Category:Jazz musicians from Virginia

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:American male jazz musicians

Category:GRP All-Star Big Band members

Category:The Tonight Show Band members

Category:Karma (American band) members

Category:CTI Records artists

Category:Elektra Records artists

Category:JVC Records artists

Category:The Love Unlimited Orchestra members

Category:21st-century American flautists