Jazz Articles about Jeff Tain Watts

Yosvany Terry Cabrera: Metamorphosis

by AAJ Staff
April 23, 2006

Intersections between Afro-Cuban music and jazz tend to be characteristically raw and visceral, drum-heavy and tilted toward bodily motion. This particular flavor of Latin jazz very rarely approaches the level of cosmopolitan integration, intellectual consistency and postmodern literacy that marks Metamorphosis. 34 year-old saxophonist Yosvany Terry Cabrera, who grew up in Camaguey, Cuba, wrote seven of the eight pieces on the record, for which he provides helpful background in the extended bilingual liner notes. His compositions effectively mirror his leadership, ...

Yosvany Terry: Metamorphosis

by James Taylor
April 21, 2006

Yosvany Terry Cabrera has been turning heads in the New York jazz community since he arrived in the city in 1999. The Cuban-born musician's stateside debut will be the first introduction to this rising star for many, however. Metamorphosis is a stellar debut from a talented young saxophonist and master chekere player whose credentials speak for themselves and whose compositions are fresh and vibrant.Frequent collaborators Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Mike Moreno (guitars), Venezuelan-born Luis Perdoma (piano) and Dafnis Prieto ...

Yosvany Terry Cabrera: Metamorphosis

by Matt Cibula
April 8, 2006

When I was a teenager in Oregon, I used to listen to lots of fusion and jazz-funk on a great radio station out of Portland. I didn't exactly go around telling anyone this, but I liked it just fine all the same. I felt a little better later, when all that stuff got sampled by hip-hop producers and I realized that there had been a lot of little Bob James nerds like me.

I say this because this album by ...

Jeff "Tain" Watts: Detained at the Blue Note

by Russ Musto
December 22, 2004

On Detained at the Blue Note , Jeff “Tain" Watts' first live outing as a leader, the effusive drummer lets loose with one of the most unrestrained performances he's ever released. Watts' uninhibited style of drumming is best heard in the intimate club setting in which this disc was recorded. The outgoing Tain is inspired by the interaction with a live audience and the listeners respond in kind as the music escalates in intensity, delivering climax after climax to their ...

Half Note Records: Elvin Jones and Jeff "Tain" Watts

by Mark F. Turner
October 14, 2004

Two outstanding live recordings by two dynamic drummers.

Elvin Jones Jazz Machine The Truth: Heard Live at the Blue Note Half Note Records 2004

The spirit of the esteemed and beloved drummer Elvin Jones will continue in the hearts of fans and musicians in spite of his untimely death in 2004. The new release The Truth: Heard Live at the Blue Note documents the master percussionist's 72nd birthday celebration at New York's Blue Note ...

Jeff "Tain" Watts: Detained at the Blue Note

by John Kelman
October 12, 2004

From drummer Jeff “Tain" Watts' introduction to the live recording Detained at the Blue Note --"Hey everybody, it's Saturday, let's get loose !"--you know this is going to be a fun event. With a group that includes the ubiquitous pianist Dave Kikoski, bassist Eric Revis, who works with Watts in Branford Marsalis' band, guitarist Dave Gilmore (not the “Pink Floyd" David Gilmour), tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and, guesting on three tracks, alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, the ingredients are all there ...

Jeff "Tain" Watts: Megawatts

by Terrell Kent Holmes
May 23, 2004

These days, the appearance of a “lost" jazz disc usually means that an old disc is being reissued with perhaps a few alternate takes and new artwork. It's rare when a work appears that is not only brand new but exciting. Such is the case with Megawatts, the first recording as a leader by drummer Jeff “Tain" Watts, recorded in 1991 but not released for contractual reasons. The disc has finally been liberated, however, and it's an event to be ...