Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator.

Music career

Watson was born in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, at the same time as

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

, and

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

. He graduated in 1975, moved to New York City, and became music director for the Jazz Messengers from 1977 to 1981. After leaving the band, he was productive as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, recording with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ens ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

, Joe Williams, Dianne Reeves,

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inte ...

, and

Carmen Lundy Carmen Latretta Lundy (born November 1, 1954) is an American jazz singer. She has been performing for three decades, with a focus on original material. She has been positively compared with Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Lu ...

. He formed the band Bobby Watson & Horizon with bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer

Victor Lewis Victor Lewis (born May 20, 1950) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Early life Victor Lewis was born on May 20, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Richard Lewis, who played saxophone and mother, Camille, a pianist-vocalist ...

, with whom he played throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1991, they released the album ''Post Motown Bop'' on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...

, with John Fordham in Q Magazine describing it as "gleaming, glossy bebop". Watson also led a group known as the High Court of Swing (a tribute to the music of

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

), the sixteen-piece Tailor-Made Big Band, and is a founding member of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet, an all-horn, four-piece group with alto saxophonist Ed Jackson, tenor saxophonist Rich Rothenberg, and baritone saxophonist Jim Hartog. Watson also composed a song for the soundtrack to the movie ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of a ...

'' (1993). A resident of New York for most of his professional life, he served as a member of the adjunct faculty and taught saxophone privately at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American j ...

from 1985 to 1986 and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

from 1996 to 1999. He is involved with the

Thelonious Monk Institute The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The in ...

's annual Jazz in America high school outreach program. In 2000, he was approached to return to his native midwestern surroundings on the Kansas-Missouri border. Watson was selected as the first William D. and Mary Grant/Missouri, Distinguished Professorship in Jazz Studies. As the director of jazz studies at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

Conservatory of Music, while still managing a worldwide performing schedule, Watson's ensembles at UMKC have received several awards. Watson spent the 2019-2020 academic year as a Global Jazz Ambassador for UMKC.

Discography

As leader

* ''Estimated Time of Arrival'' (

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, 1978) * ''All Because of You'' (Roulette, 1979) * ''Advance'' ( Enja, 1985) * ''Beatitudes'' (New Note, 1985) * ''Appointment in Milano'' ( Red,1985) * '' Love Remains'' ( Red, 1986) * ''The Year of the Rabbit'' (New Note, 1987) *''The Inventor'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, 1989) * ''Post-Motown Bop'' (

, 1991) * ''Present Tense'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, 1992) * ''Tailor Made'' (Columbia, 1993) * ''Gumbo'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

, 1994) * ''Midwest Shuffle'' (Columbia, 1994) * ''Urban Renewal'' ( Kokopelli, 1995) * ''Live & Learn'' ( Palmetto, 2001) * ''Old Friends New Point'' (City Light, 2002) * ''From the Heart'' (Palmetto, 2007) * ''Made in America'' ( Smoke Sessions, 2017) * ''Bird at 100'' (Smoke Sessions, 2019) * ''Keepin' It Real'' (Smoke Sessions, 2020)

As sideman

With the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet * ''Pointillistic Groove'' (Osmosis, 1984) * ''The Real Deal'' (New Note, 1987) * ''Underground'' (

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, 1991) With

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the ...

* '' Gypsy Folk Tales'' (

, 1977) * '' In My Prime Vol. 1'' (

Timeless Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to: * Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time * Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism * Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration * Im ...

, 1977) * '' In My Prime Vol. 2'' (Timeless, 1977) * '' In This Korner'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1978) * '' Reflections in Blue'' (Timeless, 1978) * '' Night in Tunisia: Digital Recording'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

, 1979) * ''

Live at Montreux and Northsea ''Live at Montreux and Northsea'' is an album by drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers Big Band recorded in 1980 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland (with one track recorded at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands) and rele ...

'' (Timeless, 1980) * '' One by One'' ( Palcoscenico, 198) * '' Art Blakey in Sweden'' (Amigo, 1981) * ''

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

'' (Timeless, 1981) * '' Straight Ahead'' (Concord Jazz, 1981) With others *

Ricky Ford Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Ford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States,) and studied at the New England Conservatory. Ricky Ford AllMusic In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schulle ...

, '' Interpretations'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

, 1982) *

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...

, '' Light and Lively'' (

SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, 1989) *

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

, '' Naima's Love Song'' ( DIW, 1988) * John Hicks, '' Piece for My Peace'' (

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

, 1995) * The Leaders, ''

Spirits Alike ''Spirits Alike'' is an album by the all-star jazz group The Leaders. It was recorded in August 2006 in New Jersey, and was released later that year by Double Moon Records. The album features performances by a reconstituted version of the band: or ...

'' (Double Moon, 2006) *

Sam Rivers Sam Rivers may refer to: * Sam Rivers (jazz musician) Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...

, ''

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

'' ( Black Saint, 1982) *

Superblue Austin Lyons (born 25 May 1956), better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist. Early life Lyons was born on 25 May 1956 in Point Fortin. His mother is a Grenadian and his fa ...

, ''Superblue'' (

, 1988) *

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

, '' Journey, Man!'' (Evidence, 1995)

References

External links

* *
Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Bobby 1953 births Living people American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz composers Jazz alto saxophonists The Jazz Messengers members American male jazz composers Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas Musicians from Lawrence, Kansas Palmetto Records artists Post-bop jazz musicians University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty 21st-century American saxophonists The Leaders members Savoy Sultans members Superblue (band) members 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers