Home » Jazz Articles » Kobie Watkins
Jazz Articles about Kobie Watkins
Steve Haines and The Third Floor Orchestra: Steve Haines and The Third Floor Orchestra
by Angelo Leonardi
Dare al lettore—nel breve spazio di una recensione—l'idea del contenuto e del valore (in un giudizio ovviamente soggettivo) di un album spinge a usare tutte quelle classificazioni nate per orientarci. In poche parole, creare delle mappe è utile ma se il territorio è ricco di elementi diversi si rischia di usare etichette fuorvianti. L'ascolto di questo disco orchestrale di Steve Haines spinge a queste considerazioni per il suo collocarsi tra differenti universi musicali (folk, classica, jazz, canzone ...
Continue ReadingScott Sawyer: Night Visions
by Troy Dostert
As a North Carolinian, guitarist Scott Sawyer may not enjoy the visibility of his counterparts in better-known jazz meccas, but fans of contemporary jazz guitar shouldn't pass him up. With some smart songwriting instincts and a knack for finding talented bandmates, not to mention possessing terrific guitar chops, Sawyer delivers on the promise of a career dating back to the 1980s that has involved sideman work with everyone from Nnenna Freelon to alt-rocker Chris Stamey. But Sawyer's had several releases ...
Continue ReadingKobie Watkins: Movement
by K. Shackelford
Solidifying a musical 'voice' could take five years, or it could take 15 years. Yet when an artist's 'voice' or style comes, well, you just know it. The result is work with musical moves that are distinctive and ideas that are au courant. Drummer/Composer/Bandleader Kobie Watkins' voice resounds with artistic certainty and savoir faire on his second album entitled Movement (Origin Records, 2018), featuring the Kobie Watkins Grouptet. Watkins, a Chicago native, has toured and recorded as a ...
Continue ReadingKobie Watkins: A Drummer's Voyage
by K. Shackelford
Chicago native Kobie Watkins is a leading voice in the new generation of jazz drummers. I saw Watkins several months ago at The Jazz Room in Charlotte and his performance was bananas--the crowd was in awe and after each solo there was thundering applause. An absolute wonder to watch, his polyrhythmic creativity and concepts create unique musical art that has put him in the category of a young jazz master. For this reason, he has been sought after by the ...
Continue ReadingEtienne Charles: Folklore
by Larry Reni Thomas
Trumpeter Etienne Charles' Folklore is a wonderful, colorful, vibrant recording filled with Caribbean flavor, Latin grooves and solid jazz arrangements and solos. A percussionist and composer as well, the 26-year-old Charles has an extremely unique trumpet sound that is his and his alone. He doesn't sound like Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, or Miles Davis, nor does he sound like fellow West Indian native, the Jamaican-born Dizzy Reece (a trumpet sensation of the 1950s and 1960s and one the Caribbean's most ...
Continue ReadingKobie Watkins: Involved
by John Barron
Perhaps the title to drummer Kobie Watkins' debut, Involved, makes reference to the Chicago native's involvement with some of the highest profile jazz artists around. A regular in the bands of saxophonist Sonny Rollins, guitarist Bobby Broom, and vocalist Kurt Elling, Watkins has proven himself a stand-out accompanist, possessing a confident blend of fire and sensitivity. With a slew of fellow Chicagoans, including Broom, trumpeter Pharez Whitted, and saxophonist Geof Bradfield, Watkins blends straight-ahead blowing and unabashed funk to create ...
Continue Reading
