Search - Ernie Watts Quartet :: Oasis

Music has been an oasis for Ernie Watts his whole life, ever since he first picked up a horn over fifty years ago. Since he and his wife started Flying Dolphin in 2004, his oasis has grown even deeper. This new project, recorded in Germany, has music from many sources: three compositions from Watts himself: lingering Twilight Waltz, joyful Bass Geige (colloquial German for 'upright bass,') and title track Oasis. Energetic samba Palmito is by pianist Christof Saenger, and intricate Konbanwa from drummer Heinrich Koebberling. A bebop classic, Shaw Nuff is by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie; the soaring ballad You Are There comes from Johnny Mandel and Dave Frishberg, and One Day I'll Fly Away (made famous in Moulin Rouge) from Joe Sample and Will Jennings. Also included is the Lennon/McCartney tune Blackbird, and Crescent by Ernie's major inspiration John Coltrane, each tune with a Watts interpretation and his superlative sound, as well as a band that unites as one. This Oasis is wide as well as deep.