Eric Watson (born July 5, 1955) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist.

Early life and education

Watson was born in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

. He began playing piano as a child and performed in

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

bands in Massachusetts. He studied classical music at the

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music school, music conservatory of Oberlin College, a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the ...

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin ...

Career

After graduating from college in 1978, Watson moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he performed jazz and classical music and worked as an accompanist for a dance group. is signed to a long-term recording contract with

ACT Music ACT is a German record label founded in 1992 by Siegfried Loch. It is a division of ACT Music + Vision founded by Loch and Annette Humpe in 1988. ACT started as a pop music label but folded soon after it started. Loch turned it into a jazz labe ...

. He has worked with double bass player John Lindberg, drummer

Ed Thigpen Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biograph ...

, and

Steve Lacy Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of the alternative R&B band the Internet, which he joined in 2015. His self-produced debut EP, '' ...

Discography

* ''Bulls Blood'' (1980) * ''Conspiracy'' (1982) * ''Child in the Sky'' (1985) * Piano One (1985) * ''Your Tonight Is My Tomorrow'' (1987) * ''Charles Ives'' (1991) * ''Palimpseste'' (1991) * ''Listen to the Night'' (1994) * ''Punk Circus'' (1994) * ''Silent Hearts'' (1999) * ''Full Metal Quartet'' (2000) * ''Sketches of Solitude'' (2002) * ''Road Movies'' (2004) * ''Midnight Torsion'' (2009) * ''Memories of Paris'' (2010) With

*''

Spirit of Mingus ''Spirit of Mingus'' is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Eric Watson, which was recorded in Paris in 1991 and first released on the Free Lance label in 1992.

'' (Free Lance, 1992) *'' Clangs'' (hat ART, 1993)

References

External links and sources

* http://nfo.net/calendar/jul05.htm * http://www.actmusic.com/artist_detail.php?bio=1&manufacturers_id=28 Mainstream jazz pianists American male classical pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz pianists American male jazz composers 20th-century American classical composers 1955 births Living people Avant-garde jazz pianists ACT Music artists People from Wellesley, Massachusetts Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni American male classical composers 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts Classical musicians from Massachusetts 21st-century American classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Sunnyside Records artists 20th-century American jazz composers {{US-jazz-pianist-stub