Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Ken Watters Group: Southern Exposure

175

The Ken Watters Group: Southern Exposure

By

View read count
The Ken Watters Group: Southern Exposure
Southern Exposure is trumpeter Ken Watters' first recording for Summit without his brother, trombonist Harry, in the starting lineup, but Ken has found an able replacement on the front line in friend and former Big Apple roommate Joel Frahm. Frahm is a fast""rising post""bop saxophonist, and it's a pity he's not used more often; as it is, he's heard only on Watters' compositions "April Third (tenor) and "Pathfinder (soprano) and the Allman Brothers' "Jessica (again on soprano). Watters makes up in part for Frahm's absence by complementing his own engaging tunes with a brace of well""known standards ("Stella by Starlight, "We'll Be Together Again ) and covers of three pop / rock classics ("Jessica, Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now, James Taylor's "Fire and Rain ). This is Watters' working group, and it shows; the quartet is tight, and everyone is meticulously in sync. Beyond that, however, there's not much to report, as no one has anything particularly fresh or stimulating to impart even though the session is marked by a substantial level of professionalism. Watters fares best on the slower""paced numbers ("Horizon, "Both Sides Now, "We'll Be Together Again ) while pianist David Marlow acquits himself well on two extended solos ("Stella, "Fire and Rain ). Watters has assembled a dependable, well""ordered quartet, and we certainly can't undervalue that; neither, on the other hand, can we award high marks for boldness or intensity. Southern Exposure is a solid, well""played session that hasn't quite enough muscle to subdue its able""bodied competition.

Track Listing

Overflow; Whitesburg Bridge; You

Personnel

Ken and Harry Watters
band / ensemble / orchestra
Ken Watters
trumpet

Album information

Title: Brothers III | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Summit Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.