Monville Charles Waters (April 14, 1938 – December 23, 2008), known as Monty Waters, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist and singer.

Early life

Monville Charles Waters was born in

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

. He studied at Modesto High School where he was a member of the

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team and ran hurdles. After graduating from high school in 1956, he attended a year of junior college before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Career

While living in Los Angeles, Waters performed as a backing saxophonist for musicians including B.B. King,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, and

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. He later moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

seeking better opportunities for an R&B career, and started his own big band and quartet. In 1968, he left California for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He later spoke of his surprise upon seeing the music scene there: "I'd never seen so many talented, hard-working, earnest people in my life. All the best were there. You really got to respect them".

Discography

As leader

* ''The Black Cat'' (

Whynot Whynot may refer to: Media * WHYNOT, an affiliate of Radio Free Asia Place * Whynot, Mississippi, U.S. * Whynot, North Carolina, U.S. Jazz * Whynot Records, a Japanese jazz record label * WhyNot Jazz Room, a jazz club in New York City Pe ...

, 1975) * ''Hot House: Live in Paris Duc de Lombards Vol. 1'' (with Larry Porter, Stafford James, Ronnie Burrage) * ''New York Calling: Live in Paris Vol. 2'' (with Larry Porter, Stafford James, Ronnie Burrage, Tom Nicholas) * ''Jazzoetry'' (with Paulo Cardoso and Tom Nicholas) * Monty Waters & Titus Waldenfels: ''Favourite Things'' * Monty Waters & Titus Waldenfels: ''Full Blast'' (with Jürgen Schneider) * Monty Waters & L'ubo Samo Quintet: ''Moonlight in Slovakia'' (with Titus Waldenfels) *

Embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

: ''Turn Peace'' * Götz Tangerding Trio feat. Sheila Jordan : ''Jazztracks''

As sideman

With Billy Higgins *'' The Soldier'' (Red, 1979) With Joe Lee Wilson *''Shout for Trane'' (1976) With Sam Rivers *'' Crystals'' (1974) With

Ronnie Boykins Ronald Boykins (December 17, 1935 – April 20, 1980) was a jazz double bass, bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Wi ...

*'' The Will Come, Is Now'' (1975)

References

External links

Official websiteAllMusic biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Monty American jazz singers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz flautists 1938 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century American flautists