Search - Jeff 'Train' Watts :: Bar Talk

In the 1980s, drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts was the motor behind the advancing army of Young Turks led by Wynton and Branford Marsalis. He took Elvin Jones's rhythmic concepts to new heights and established himself as a drumming force of the future. This CD, his second as a leader, focuses on his compositions more than his drum work. Joined by saxophonists Ravi Coltrane and Michael Brecker, along with guitarists Hiram Bullock and Paul Bollenbeck, and pianist Joey Calderazzo, Watts and company deliver a program of surprisingly light-on-the-ears tunes, penned mostly by him. "J.C. Is the Man" is a boppish tribute to a bartender, while "Stevie in Rio" is a breezy tropical number. "Laughin' and Talkin' (with Higg)" is Watts's sonic shout-out to the dearly departed drummer, Billy Higgins, and Kenny Kirkland's moody ballad, "Tonality of Atonement," is handled with tender loving care from Watts and the crew. On "...Like the Rose," Watts's vocal alter ego, "Juan Tainish," graces the Norman Conners-like ballad with his pipes. Watt's drumming is impressive and supportive--he doesn't have to prove anything with selfish solos. --Eugene Holley Jr.