Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Harry Watters: Out Of A Dream - Love Songs

211

Harry Watters: Out Of A Dream - Love Songs

By

Sign in to view read count
Harry Watters: Out Of A Dream - Love Songs
Harry Watters is a youthful slide trombonist who offers a welcome remembrance of the golden days of bebop and afterwards, when J.J. Johnson set the standards for the instrument. These nine tracks exhibit his impressive range and fleetness, and the listener will quickly think of the many qualified 'bone players who have been recording over the past few decades. His style lies closer to Bill Watrous and Steve Davis than Steve Turre.

Watters is a graduate of the University of North Texas who also spent four years with the Dukes of Dixieland and currently works with two military organizations (the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble and the United States Army Brass Quintet). He has recorded three previous albums on Summit with brother Ken Watters, a trumpet/flugelhornist. Out Of A Dream allows ample time for Watters to show his familiarity and comfort level with the Great American Songbook. While it's subtitled Love Songs, it should be noted that at least a few of these songs are taken up-tempo and that there are errors on the jacket listings ("Am I Blue," When My Dreamboat Comes Home," "You Stepped Out of a Dream," and "Angel Eyes" are all incorrectly located).

Nonetheless, Watters and his quartet provide a tasty appreciation of the standards. Ballads like "My One and Only Love" and "Angel Eyes" seem just tailor-made for Watters' rich delivery and the combination of definitive jazz trombone and timeless melody mesh perfectly. "All The Things You Are" and "You Stepped Out of A Dream" are both taken up-tempo, and the latter features some good solo work by bassist Glenn Dewey and pianist Dan Roberts.

The finished project is a most enjoyable listen which lacks any surprises. At the very least, it is comparable to similar quartet recordings produced by labels like Concord over the past few decades by some sigificantly higher-priced artists.

Track Listing

All The Things You Are, Am I Blue, But Beautiful, Just Squeeze Me, My One And Only Love, Night and Day, When My Dreamboat Comes Home, You Stepped Out of A Dream, Angel Eyes

Personnel

Harry Watters
trombone

Harry Watters, trombone; Dan Roberts, piano; Glenn Dewey, bass; Steve Fidyk, drums.

Album information

Title: Out Of A Dream - Love Songs | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Summit Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.