Trombonist Reggie Watkins had the opportunity
to meet trombone master Jimmy Knepper just once, shortly before Knepper's death
in June 2003. Watkins was performing in his native Wheeling, WV with Maynard
Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau Band, and Knepper, himself a Ferguson alumnus, was
in the audience. The older musician complimented Watkins after the concert and
shook his hand.
Little did
Watkins realize that a series of remarkable circumstances ten years later would
lead him to record an album of Knepper compositions, played on the late
musician's Bach Stradivarius 36 trombone. The CD in question, Avid Admirer: The
Jimmy Knepper Project, will be released on Matt Parker's BYNK Records on July
15.
Avid
Admirer, Watkins's third album as a leader, was first set in motion by his
mother Liz's friendship at church in Wheeling, circa 2013, with a woman who was
the widow of Jimmy Knepper. After Maxine Knepper passed the following year,
Jimmy's daughter Robin Knepper Mahonen donated her father's collection of
musical instruments to Watkins. "Dad made me promise that his horns would
go to a musician," Mahonen writes in the CD liner notes. "Reggie
Watkins is the man that will take up these horns and give them a voice
again."
Reggie WatkinsAvid Admirer is a magnificent
result of Mahonen's generous gift. It features the trombone virtuoso performing
eight of Knepper's original compositions, as well as "Goodbye," a
Gordon Jenkins ballad that Knepper had been especially fond of playing. Matt
Parker, the brilliant saxophonist who co-produced the disc with Watkins,
alternates between soprano and tenor. (Parker worked alongside Watkins in
Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau from 2004 to 2006.) Orrin Evans and Tuomo
Uusitalo take turns at the piano. Bassist Steve Whipple and drummer Reggie
Quinerly round out the quintet. They are New Yorkers all, save for the leader,
who has long been based in Pittsburgh.
"I've
always been a serious Charles Mingus fan and became aware of Jimmy Knepper's
work through Mingus's music," Watkins says. "Having contact with
Robin was the beginning of me exploring Jimmy Knepper the composer."
Watkins
found "Avid Admirer," a swinging blues in B-flat from a 1957
Bethlehem album by Knepper with Bill Evans on piano, to be an ideal choice as a
title for the present CD. "I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a session
more," says Watkins.
Reggie Watkins Born in 1971 in Wheeling, WV,
Reggie Watkins played trumpet and tuba in high school before switching to valve
trombone, then eventually slide trombone. It was as a music major at West
Virginia University that he was first exposed to the playing of 'bone legend
J.J. Johnson.
In
Pittsburgh, Watkins was influenced by Roger Humphries, the local legend known
for playing with Horace Silver on such classic albums as Song for My Father.
Watkins became involved in various bands and gained a reputation for his
strong, groove-minded playing.
In 1999,
Watkins became Maynard Ferguson's trombonist, music director, and arranger. He
is featured as a trombonist and arranger on Swingin' for Schuur, the 2001 album
the trumpeter made with singer Diane Schuur. The next year, Watkins recorded
his first album, A-List, which was part of the Maynard Ferguson Presents
series. The recording featured his compositions and arrangements. One for
Miles, One for Maynard, his second date as a leader, was released in 2014.
"Reggie
Watkins brings a sophistcated fire to his music that is infectious," says
Matt Parker. "Working with him on The Jimmy Knepper Project showed me what
it means to learn from the masters that came before us."
"I feel
as if I have been set upon a wave of musical destiny that began a long time ago
and could continue long after I'm gone," says Watkins. "What I hope
for this record is that people listen, enjoy the music, and be compelled to
further explore the music of Jimmy Knepper. I will forever be influenced and
inspired by his artistry."
CD Release
Shows for Avid Admirer: The Jimmy Knepper Project:
7/16
V.O.M.A. (Venue of Merging Arts), Johnstown, PA, 7:30pm
(w/ Matt Parker & Friends)
7/23
Pittsburgh Winery, 9pm
(w/ Matt Parker, ts; Orrin Evans, p; Paul
Thompson, b; David Throckmorton, d)
8/31 South,
Philadelphia, 7pm & 9pm
(w/ Matt Parker, ts; Orrin Evans, p; Matt
Parish, b; E.J. Strickland, d)
9/1 Cornelia
Street Café, NYC, 9pm
(w/ Matt Parker, ts; Tuomo Uusitalo, p;
Steve Whipple, b; Reggie Quinerly, d)
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