Jeff "Tain" Watts

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Jeff "Tain" Watts
Watts performing with Wynton Marsalis in JazzFest 2007
Watts performing with Wynton Marsalis in JazzFest 2007
Background information
Born (1960-01-20) January 20, 1960 (age 64)
Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OriginPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader, actor
Instrument(s)Drums
LabelsDark Key Music
Websitetainish.com

Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others.

Biography[edit]

Watts got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny Kirkland when they were on tour in Florida and drove past a Chieftain gas station.[1] He was given a Guggenheim fellowship in music composition in 2017.[2] Watts attended Berklee College of Music, where he met collaborator Branford Marsalis.[3]

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

  • Megawatts (Sunnyside, 1991)
  • Citizen Tain (Columbia, 1999)
  • Bar Talk (Columbia, 2002)
  • Detained at the Blue Note (Half Note, 2004)
  • Folks Songs (Dark Key Music, 2011)
  • Watts (Dark Key Music, 2009)
  • Family (Dark Key Music, 2011)
  • Blue, Vol. 1 (Dark Key Music, 2015)
  • Blue, Vol. 2 (Dark Key Music, 2018)
  • Detained in Amsterdam (Dark Key Music, 2018)

As sideman[edit]

Awards and honors[edit]

Grammy Awards[edit]

Year Category Title Genre Result Notes
1985 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group Black Codes From the Underground Jazz Won with Wynton Marsalis
1986 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group J Mood Jazz Won with Wynton Marsalis
1987 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group Marsalis Standard Time - Vol. 1 Jazz Won with Wynton Marsalis
1992 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group I Heard You Twice the First Time Jazz Won with Branford Marsalis
1990 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group Crazy People Music Jazz Nominated with Branford Marsalis Quartet
1999 Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group Requiem Jazz Nominated with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2000 Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group Contemporary Jazz Jazz Won with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2004 Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group Eternal Jazz Nominated with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2010 Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Mingus Big Band Live at the Jazz Standard Jazz Won with the Mingus Big Band
2023 Best Opera Recording Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Blanchard) Opera Won with the Metropolitan Opera
2024 Best Opera Recording Champion (Blanchard) Opera Won with the Metropolitan Opera

Source:[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ From an interview with Kevin Le Gendre for Jazz On 3 on BBC Radio 3.
  2. ^ 2017 Guggenheim Fellow
  3. ^ Milkowski, Bill (9 May 2019). "Jeff "Tain" Watts: The Reign of "Tain"". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  4. ^ grammy.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.

External links[edit]