In the mid to late 1940s, a young horn player by the name of Julius Watkins (1921 - 1977) came to the scene in New York and started to make success. Born in Detroit, he attended to Cass Tech High School together with some high caliber names in the world of jazz such as Donald Byrd, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers and Dorothy Ashby. His talent with the horn was noticed since very early, and it was at Cass Tech that he received training from Francis Hellstein of the Detroit Symphony.
He performed with the Ernie Fields Band and joined the Naval Reserve in 1944. In 1946, he moved to New York and started his studies at the Manhattan School of Music, which gave him training as a composer and arranger. His improvisational identity draw inspiration from classical chamber music, and soon his sound became highly appraised by major names in the field.
In the early 1950s, Watkins had the opportunity to record with Thelonious Monk on Friday the 13th, putting him into the jazz mainstream. It was in that group that he met Charlie Rouse who played tenor saxophone for Monk. together they founded Les Jazz Modes, a combo that was very distinct in its sound. The blending between the tenor and the horn is remarkable, and as Dr Patrick Smith brings in his book "Chronicle of a Phantom", they would practice very quietly until "wee hours" of the morning. That intimate practice reflected on their sound.
In 1954, Julius gathered a few musicians such as Art Blakey, Hank Mobley, Frank Foster and Oscar Pettiford (who was also in Les Jazz Modes alongside Paul Chambers) and made the Julius Watkins Sextet. Here Watkins shows a more developed musicianship, with a more sophisticated language and carrying a few concepts from the previous record into this one, such as the chamber characteristics.
This post will be continued in a next one, since is already a lengthy listening session.
Never stop swingin'!
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