On my 2000 "Best List"
Mark Turner | United States | 04/26/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having purchased this cd a few weeks ago, I must state that this is a fantastic cd. Jeff Tain is a superb drummer and his choices on this recording are excellent. All artists display excellent musicianship. There's a special and sad sentiment to the late great Kenny Kirkland. His playing is outstanding. This cd grooves, moves, and inspires. This is what true jazz is all about."
Great debut from a seasoned drummer
p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 12/14/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"it seems funny that jeff "tain" watts is releasing a debut, he's been on the scene for years. this album contains all the elements that have made him an in demand drummer for some of the giants (betty carter, for instance)and a regular with the brothers marsalis. tain knows how to swing, both subtly and hard. his burnouts are incredible as he somehow stays within the groove even when it becomes free. but he can also use the brushes on ballads to create one of those misty blue midnight hours. this is a very satisfying album."
A real discovery
bencharif | Staten Island, NY United States | 10/02/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard Jeff Tain Watts on Branford Marsalis's "Footsteps of Our Fathers" CD. His playing was a standout; crisp, multidimensional, intelligent. And so I bought this debut CD, recorded about four years ago.I find myself returning to "Citizen Tain" again and again, playing it in my office, playing it on the street. It's that rich, that varied. Smart and tight, languid, romantic, introspective, impassioned. And sounding so easy, so inevitable, like the sun rising in the East. Each time I listen, I find something I hadn't quite gotten before.I feel fortunate to have discovered "Citizen Tain.""