Results for "Gerald Watkins, Jr."

Gerald Watkins, Jr.

Saturn Quartet

Active since: January

When is a jazz group not merely a jazz group? Perhaps, when it’s the Saturn Quartet. Made up of four extremely talented young players and composers (the term "prodigies" might not be entirely inappropriate when discussing the group’s members), who all fell together initially during their time studying that most unique and challenging American art form in the fabled Jazz Studies Program at Florida State University, the Saturn Quartet is one of the most intriguing –and notable—new entries on the international jazz scene. However, while the combo proudly wears its sincere reverence for the history of this improv-heavy musical genre on its collective sleeve, its members are also not afraid to gently push the envelope of what might be expected from a band of classically-trained instrumentalists. The fact that they have both the nerve to treat their chosen material with such an open-hearted approach and the finely-honed chops required to pull off subtly adventurous stylistic detours is a testament not only to each player’s nascent mastery of their craft, but to the creative chemistry that exists between them all—a palpable relationship which is instantly obvious, even to casual listeners. That chemistry and audacity is evident throughout all seven tracks on the Saturn Quartet’s brand-new debut album, "Synchronicities," produced with great empathy and elan by the award-winning (and Grammy-nominated) rising jazz star Jamison Ross, and set for worldwide release on May 21, 2022. The Saturn Quartet’s bassist and bandleader, Robin Sherman (who’s played or recorded with everyone from jazz icons like Ellis Marsalis and Donald Harrison to punk legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Iggy Pop) says he feels the group’s versatility is one of its defining characteristics. "When it comes to the wide variety of types of jazz music, I feel the Saturn Quartet fits in somewhere around the middle," Sherman muses