Jeff "Tain" Watts Quartet

Fri, Oct 23 | 7 pm Smalls Jazz Club

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About

One of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world today, Jeff initially majored in classical percussion at Pittsburgh's Duquesne University, where he was primarily a timpanist, followed by enrollment at the Berklee School of Music, where he pursued jazz studies alongside such talented players as Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Greg Osby, Aimee Mann, Steve Vai and Marvin "Smitty" Smith.
Jeff joined the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981 and proceeded to win three Grammy Awards with the ensemble. Watts left Wynton Marsalis in 1988. After working with George Benson, Harry Connick. Jr. and McCoy Tyner, he joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet in 1989.
Jeff has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as an actor, Rhythm Jones in Spike Lees "Mo Better Blues". Jeff joined Kenny Garrett's band after returning to New York in 1995 after three years in LA on the Tonight Show. Watts also continued to record and tour with Branford Marsalis as well as Danilo Perez, Michael Brecker, Betty Carter, Kenny Kirkland, Courtney Pine, Geri Allen, Alice Coltrane, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Ravi Coltrane.
Jeff has an extensive discography as a side-man, as well as six albums as a leader:
"Citizen Tain" (Sony 1999),
"Bar Talk" (Sony 2002),
"MegaWatts" (Sunnyside 2003)
"Detained, Live at the Blue Note" (Half Note 2004) and
"Folk's Songs" (Dark Key Music 2007)
"WATTS" (Dark Key Music 2009)
Jeff was the producer for "Bar Talk", "Detained" Dark Key Music releases, "Folk's Songs" and "WATTS".
Along with explosive power, blinding speed and mastery of complex rhythms and time signatures, Watts brings a rare sense of elegance, tried-by-fire composure, and a gritty street funk to his music. His artistic ingenuity expresses itself in his incomparable technique, sweltering sense of swing, and an extraordinary ability to imbue his music with majestic grace and elegant repose. A true jazz innovator, Watts never fails to deliver the percussive magic that has been his trademark since his emergence on the contemporary jazz scene.
Weblinks:
chambersoftain.com

Paul Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of a wide range of influences, including Carlos Santana, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Lenny Breau. Born in Hinsdale, Illinois, Bollenback was raised in Hastings on Hudson, New York, a suburb of New York City. At the age of seven, he received a nylon-string guitar from his father, a scientist, classically trained trumpeter and lover of music. At the age of eleven, his family relocated from New York to New Delhi, India. It was there that he cultivated his life-long interest in exotic musical sounds and timbres, which is evident in even his most jazz-based work. When his family returned to New York, Paul's father bought him an electric guitar and he started to gig in rock and roll bands around the area. Then he heard Miles Davis and his world changed forever. Having relocated again in 1975, this time from New York to Washington, DC, Bollenback continued to study and play jazz and fusion. He attended University of Miami as a music major, then later studied privately for eight years with Baltimore-based professor of Theory/Composition Asher Zlotnik. In 1987 he made his recording debut on saxophonist Gary Thomas's Seventh Quadrant, for Enja records, and in 1990 made the acquaintance of organ legend Joey DeFrancesco, an association that lasted 16 years, and produced 14 recordings.In 1991 his two compositions, "Wookies's Revenge" and "Romancin' the Moon" (featured on Joey DeFrancesco's Reboppin') earned him the SESAC award for original music. In 1993 while touring in Europe, Paul was awarded a grant from the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to compose and perform "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars". In 1997, Bollenback was named Musician of the Year at the Washington Area Music Awards.Bollenback's debut recording as a leader, Original Visions, on Challenge Records, is one of the most creative efforts by a guitarist in recent memory. Double Gemini, his second CD, features four of his own compositions and won the title of CD of The Month in Jim Fisch's distinguished jazz column in 20th Century Guitar Magazine. It won the same award from the renowned jazz radio station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. His 3rd release on Challenge, Soul Grooves, won Ndigo Magazines Best Contemporary Jazz Album of 1999. Challenge has since released Dreams and Double-Vision. Bollenback released his 6th project as a leader, Brightness of Being, on the Elefant Dreams label, in March 2006. Along with extensive airplay, Bollenback has also received wide acclaim both in the United States as well as internationally for his ground breaking adaptations, arrangements and sonic treatments of classical pieces by Puccini and de Leon as well as pop classics by Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Neil Young. Brightness of Being was recently included on Jazz Week's Top 100 CD's for 2006 on their Jazz Album Chart.Paul Bollenback has appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight. He has played with an impressive spectrum of musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff Tain Watts, Joe Locke, Gary Thomas, Tim Garland, David Fathead Newman, Steve Wilson, Geoffrey Keezer, Terri-Lyne-Carrington, Grady Tate, Shunzo Ohno, James Moody, Chris McNulty, Jack McDuff, Charlie Byrd, Paul Bley, Carol Sloane, Carter Jefferson, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Bruno, and East Meets Jazz, with Sandip Burman. Bollenback also shares executive and co-producing credits with vocalist-composer, Chris McNulty on both Dance Delicioso (2005) and her recently released, Whispers the Heart recordings (2006), also out on the Elefant Dreams label.In 1997 he returned to New York City, where he now makes his home.Weblinks:www.paulbollenback.com

David Kikoski is a pianist, composer, and arranger deeply rooted in the rich tradition of jazz.

"The brilliant playing of David Kikoski just smokes. His playing is sparkling." - Chick Corea

"Dave has so much feeling. He can play anything. I can depend on him for so much." - Roy Haynes

A highly regarded jazz pianist, Dave Kikoski emerged onto the New York jazz scene in the 1980s, quickly establishing himself as a go-to performer, collaborating with top musicians such as Roy Haynes, Bob Berg, Randy Brecker, and many others. Known for his adept post-bop style and spontaneous, swinging play, Kikoski has become a prominent figure in the jazz world.

As a leader, Kikoski has released 20 albums, including "Presage" with Eddie Gomez and Al Foster (1989) and "Consequences" featuring Jeff "Tain" Watts and Christian McBride (2015). His two most recent albums, "Phoenix Rising" (2019) and "Sure Thing" (2021), were both released under High Note Records.

In his role as an invaluable sideman, Kikoski has recorded and toured with luminaries such as Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Roy Hargrove, Donny McCaslin, Mike Stern, Chick Corea, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Toots Thielemans, Tom Harrell, Marcus Miller, Pat Martino, Jack Dejohnette, Billy Hart, and many others. A longstanding member of the prestigious Charles Mingus Big Band, co-leader of BeatleJazz, and a member of Opus Five, Kikoski is also part of the newly formed all-star collective called Something Else.

Notably, as a member of the Charles Mingus Big Band, Kikoski achieved significant success by winning a 2011 Grammy Award with the ensemble for the Best Live Jazz Ensemble Album with "Live at the Jazz Standard." In 2001, he earned a Grammy nomination with Roy Haynes for the album "Birds of a Feather: A Tribute to Charlie Parker." It's worth highlighting that the Mingus Big Band, with Dave as a vital contributor, recently received a 2024 Grammy nomination for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, recognizing their outstanding performance in “The Charles Mingus Centennial Session.”

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Smalls Jazz Club

183 West 10th Street West Village