"The Works" of Kit Watkins

Recently, I received a copy of a fantastic DVD by the the multi-talented musician Kit Watkins entitled, "The Works". This Data/DVD is an incredible collection that spans nearly thirty years of this prolific artist. Watkins first came to my attention on the campus of Georgetown University, during his tenure as founding member of the group, "Happy the Man". Sponsored by the university's then forward thinking radio station, WGTB, Watkins and his group produced a show that is now the stuff of legend and heralded the age of prog-rock and new age music of the late '70's and '80s. There are 27 albums and 12 bonus tracks in mp3 format on the DVD, (including my personal favorite, "Over the Andes" with Coco Rousell), making this a must have collection of a true musical genius.

Another reviewer once wrote of Watkins, "Kit Watkins first came to prominence as part of legendary progressive band, Happy the Man. Despite disbanding years ago after just a couple albums, Kit still gets questions as to if and when this band might ever get back together. Later he joined up with Andrew Latimer in Camel for the album, "I Can See Your House from Here." Shortly afterwards he became a solo artist with his first album, "Labyrinth." From here it was inevitable that Kit would start his own label, Linden Music.

For me, Kit's music is a perfect example of why more artists need to start their own labels. The major labels make it a point to market to the lowest common denominator. An artist on a major label, and even many niche indie labels, must record albums that basically sound the same from beginning to end and from one album to the next. That makes it easy for the labels to market, but denies the artist any artistic growth and eventually cuts short his/her career. Kit refuses to treat his audience in this manner. Instead he assumes that they are both very intelligent and very curious and each album is a new adventure in a totally different musical world."

Born to classical piano teachers in 1953 in Virginia, Kit Watkins studied piano at home from ages 5 through 13. During his teen years, Kit was drawn to rock music and became a driving force behind a series of local bands, playing organ, synthesizer, and flute, as well as singing lead. By age 18, he was discovering his own writing abilities. He soon joined up with the band Happy The Man (HTM) which was forming at the local university. It was with HTM that Kit honed his skills in composing, performing, arranging, and producing. During its six years, the band recorded five albums, including two produced by Ken Scott and released on Arista Records. In 1979, Kit then joined the British band Camel for an album produced by Rupert Hine and several tours of the UK, Europe, and Japan from 1980 through 1982.



Kit’s solo career began in 1980 with the self-produced album Labyrinth, released on his own Azimuth Records label. The album won him 5th place in Keyboard magazine’s Annual Readers’ Poll Awards for keyboard album. He recorded and performed with drummer/percussionist Coco Roussel during this period. During the 80s, Kit continued to produce solo and collaborative albums, some released on his own label, while others were picked up by larger independent labels. In the early 90s, Kit formed a new label, Linden Music, which released a number of his new recordings, as well as CDs by Robert Rich, Jeff Greinke, David Borden, and others.

His music style has changed focus from album to album, and has encompassed such varied forms as progressive, electronica, ambient, jazz, and world-fusion. Some notable influences include artists such as Brian Eno, Mickey Hart, Mark Isham, Joe Zawinul, Harold Budd, Wayne Shorter, Steve Reich, Joni Mitchell, Jon Hassell, Eberhard Weber, Jeff Greinke, Steve Roach, and Wendy Carlos.

In 2001, Kit performed a milestone concert in Philadelphia for The Gatherings series, hosted by Chuck van Zyl of Star’s End Ambient Radio. It was Kit’s first performance in 20 years, and his first ever as a solo artist in a new genre. In preparation for this concert, Kit began learning and using an electronic wind instrument as the focal point of his stage performance. He finds this instrument far more expressive and liberating than electronic keyboards, especially for melody and solo work. Coupling his abilities on flute with his many influences by horn and reed players, the migration to the electronic wind instrument has been a natural. The Gathering CDs are also available, as well as a video of the concert on DVD.

Also in 2001, Kit briefly formed an improvisational ensemble named Tone Ghost Ether. The group was realized through a natural interaction between three musicians (Kit Watkins, Brad Allen, John Tlusty) searching for a common form of expression. All of the music by Tone Ghost Ether was improvised and played in real-time without overdubs.

Kit Watkins is continuing to record and release new works from his private studio in Brattleboro, Vermont. The music of Kit Watkins can be heard on-line at KitWatkins.com, as well as on such broadcast radio shows as Hearts of Space, Star’s End, and Echoes. His wide ranging interests in music and sound allow him to change his focus from album to album resulting in a fresh experience for both artist and listener. Expect the unexpected.

Billy Cobham Comes to Yoshi's... Both of Them!

Billy Cobham is clearly one of the greatest drummers of this or any era. At age 63, he still brings it. His career is certainly legendary; Miles, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Stanley Turrentine and a founding member of one the greatest fusion groups of all time; John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, just to name a few. Last week, Cobham began a week long stint at the Yoshi's on Fillmore with his "Spectrum Revisited" quartet, featuring guitarist Dean Brown, keyboardist Mark Soskin and bassist Victor Bailey. That group ably covered some of Cobham's electric music of the '70's, '80's and '90's.

Last night, Cobham paired down his 7 piece kit and moved to the Yoshi's in Oakland, this time with his "straight ahead" group, with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist John Williams and long time friend and trumpeter, the incredible Randy Brecker. Along side his late brother, the saxophonist Michael Brecker, they helped cement Cobham's place in the annals of jazz; co-founding the '70's group, Dreams, and performing on many of his greatest albums from the Altantic era. It's not too late to catch one of the most unforgettable drummers you will ever see.

Last year, I wrote about growing up in DC and first seeing Billy Cobham with guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin and his ground breaking Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1972. After that unbelievable show, on American University's famed football field, Billy Cobham soon became my favorite drummer.

Cobham's incredible rudimentary skills were second to none; I'd personally seen him over thirty times, and his massive frame and joyous playing will leave anyone who sees him gasping in amazement. Those skills have not diminished one bit, as evidenced in a recent DVD, "Billy Cobham: Live at 60". Joining Cobham for yet another concert in Paris, was his Culture Mix group, featuring the great "Junior" Gill on steel drums. With footage and interviews, this DVD is a remarkable window into the life of perhaps the best drummer of ours, or any generation.

Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30 years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate percussionist. Cobham, with his matchless, dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, has applied the same insistent fervor to his long list of monumental achievements. He’s an accomplished composer and record producer. It is a rarely known fact that he was at the forefront of the electronic music industry and it’s development through Jazz.

He was one of the first percussionists, along with Max Roach and Tony Williams to utilize the Electronic Drum Controller made in 1968 by the Meazzi Drum Company in Milano, Italy while on concert tour with Horace Silver in Europe. He is one of the few Percussionists, specializing in the Jazz drum set to lead his own band. The award winning Cobham has custom designed trend setting acoustic and electronic drum sets and has endorsed products that he created and refined.

Cobham has performed on hundreds of records with his own groups and with some of the music’s most luminary artists, and his trademark - biggest, fastest, explosive drumming - has energized the international stages of concerts, symphonies, big bands, Broadway, festivals, television and video. He has been a teacher of his artistry, giving drum clinics, conducting workshops and symposiums throughout the world. His stylistic influence, which has literally created a category of music, is an outstanding part of the history of modern music.

Since 1980, Cobham had been dividing his time between his home in Zurich and the United States where he lived in New York City and northern California until that time, underscoring his unique internationally influenced origins as a musician. Cobham was born on May 16th, 1944 in Panama, surrounded by talented parents and a brother, Wayne (producer, horn player, MIDI specialist, writer), Cobham’s love for drums was kindled by his cousins who played and constructed steel drums and congas in Panama. Some of his earliest memories are of himself playing timbales.

The Cobhams moved to New York City in 1947, when Billy was 3 years old. He had his stage debut in performance with his father at the age of 8. Cobham developed his seriously voracious appetite for drumming in the highly competitive Drum and Bugle Corps. arena with St. Catherine’s Queensmen, prompting him to attend New York’s famed High School of Music and Art to study music theory and drum technique with seminars by such renowned talents as Thelonious Monk and Stan Getz. Cobham remembers "In those days, Jazz was a bit off-limits to students while classical music was preferred by the education establishment. So, of course students craved to meet jazz artists.

Miles Davis was the most talked about personality of the time and had the best musicians working with him Cobham recalled; "We’d listen to him and analyze, as we did with other professionals. But in those days, all roads did lead to Miles." "He was the goal to shoot for because he had a knack for putting the right components together (musicians and music) to convey the ultimate message through Jazz."

Cobham’s most notable offerings to fusion jazz are his own 35 recordings beginning with "Spectrum", which was released on Atlantic Records in 1973 and reissued on compact disc by Rhino Entertainment in 2001. Amid the re-release of Spectrum, Cobham has several projects in the works including "Drum + Voice" (due via Sony), and a range of educational tools he produces through his own company, Creative Multi-Media Concepts. Among the resources is the book "Conundrum", which is published by Warner Publishing, and a slew of Music Minus One interactive CDs which feature selections from Spectrum and other projects of Cobham's. Cobham has been part of several new films, "Sonic Groove" and the French film "Sonic Nerve".

At last night's show, Cobham played one of his greatest tunes, "Heather", (from the LP "Crosswinds"), and one he confessed, wasn't sure why he hadn't played it very often. That particular song is perhaps one of my favorites, made all the more special by the keyboard work of George Duke and the late Michael Brecker. Brecker and Miles were the very first to use wah-wah and other effects on their trumpets. After the show, I told Randy, "You did your brother proud on "Heather'..." Brecker smiled and thanked me.

Billy Cobham & Friends
featuring Kenny Barron, John Williams and Randy Brecker
Yoshi's at Jack London Square, Oakland, CA
Friday, April 18th @ 8:00 pm, $24:00 & 10:00 pm $16
Saturday, April 19th both shows $24:00
Sunday, April 20th @ 7:00 pm $24 & 9:00 pm $16

Manring Kassin Darter at 142 Throckmorton Theatre

with Edo Castro and E. "Doc" Smith

Bassist Michael Manring is well known for his work with groups like Montreux, Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith's Yo' Miles!; his duets with the much beloved and sorely missed Michael Hedges, songwriter John Gorka and a host of the Windaham Hill label's best known recording artists like George Winston. His most recent CD, "Soliloquy", is yet another musical milestone. However in 2001, Manring began his collaborations with fellow virtuosos, flautist Larry Kassin and pianist Tom Darter, resulting in their seminal work "Scatter". This Saturday night at Mill Valley's 142 Throckmorton Theatre, the trio reunites for what promises to be another wonderful evening of "chamber music for the new millennium".

Separately, Manring, Kassin, and Darter have extensive, multi-faceted careers as musicians. Together, they perform provocative, complex compositions - music that tears down stylistic walls and refuses to be compartmentalized. While listeners can hear echoes of classical, jazz, rock, folk, avant-garde, and world music in their performances, the net result is something completely new: chamber music for the new century.

This virtuoso trio has been astounding audiences for the last ten years with their amazing chops, quiet soul and diverse compositions. With over 100 albums to his credit, bass phenom Michael Manring has been hailed as "the world's greatest electric bassist" while pianist Tom Darter's compositions have drawn praise from Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland and Karel Husa and music critics have compared Kassin's flute playing with Rahassan Roland Kirk, Hubert Laws and Paul Horn.

Opening the evening is Edo Castro and myself. Edo is a multi-stringed bass virtuoso and has performed with a plethora of jazz greats; Roy Haynes, Ed Thigpen, Johhny Griffin, Armando Peraza, Stu Hamm and Mark Egan, just to name but a few. I'm of course, a regular contributor to Beyond Chron, in addition to being a drummer and percussionist who has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Madonna, Warren Zevon, Mickey Hart, Jimmy Cliff, and John Mayall among others. I'm also the inventor of the musical instrument, the Drummstick. A new recording featuring this remarkable evening is due out in early June.

Michael Manring is also known for his innovative approach to the bass and adventurous solo concerts, spawning the popular "Bass Solo Nights" concert series around the bay area. He has appeared on approximately 200 recordings, and toured throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He has received Grammy and Bammie nominations, the Berklee School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, two Gold Records, and the Bassist of the Year award from the readers of Bass Player magazine.

Larry Kassin founded the internationally recognized Noe Valley Music Series in 1981, at the acoustically superb Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco, California. His wide-ranging performance style has led to appearances with Bobby McFerrin, Jessica Williams, SF Klezmer Experience, Rhiannon, Sonia, and Box Set, plus a recent CD release with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzerek and Beat poet Michael McClure.

Tom Darter is the founding editor of Keyboard magazine, established the Contemporary Music Ensemble at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University, where he also taught music theory and composition. He has arranged two albums of music for the Kronos Quartet Monk Suite (Music of Bill Evans), played keyboards on numerous Jerry Goldsmith film scores, and has won several composition awards.

"Scatter" is a truly beautiful collection of well thought out and marvelously performed pieces. Recorded live in San Francisco, it begins with the playful "Gizmo" and shows the trio at it's rollicking best; "Ultra-body Over the Mountain" is another deceptively complex, yet tight arrangement. "Scatter", the CD's title cut lives up to it's name; a hectic ride you may wish to fasten your seat belt for; "The Chicago Picasso" is one of the loveliest songs on album, with Darter and Kassin's interplay a sparkling gem. I could hear Darter channeling Eubie himself on the jaunty "Eubie Blake on Mars", and honestly, can anyone actually play as fast as those three on "Sabar"?

Greg Rule of Keyboard magazine once said of the trio, "Mindboggling musicianship. Complex, provocative compositions. Darter, Manring and Kassin are all-around awesome!" Upon seeing them, I think you'll agree.

Manring Kassin Darter
with Edo Castro and E. "Doc" Smith
142 Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley, California
Saturday, April 12 8:00pm
$20.00 General Admission
$15.00 Students
$22.00 General Admission, Day of Show

Freddie Hubbard Comes to Yoshi's

One of my fondest jazz memories came many years ago at Maryland's Merriweather Post Pavilion. I had come to see the fantastic pianist Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P., (very special onetime performance), quintet. This was the reunion of Miles Davis' original quintet, featuring saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Tony Williams and in Miles' stead, the one and only Freddie Hubbard on trumpet. Each performer began the show by trading and soloing, until settling in on Hubbard. He didn't disappoint. Tonight and Saturday, Hubbard makes his debut at the new Yoshi's on Fillmore, celebrating his 70th birthday.Joining him are Bobby Hutcherson, George Cables, James Spaulding, Craig Handy, and Lenny White.

Freddie Hubbard is jazz royalty. One of the greatest trumpeters in the music’s history, the Indianapolis native came out of the Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan tradition to hone his own fiery and widely influential style. After rising to prominence as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (alongside Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller), Hubbard became a leader in his own right, producing a string of classic albums for Blue Note, Impulse, and, especially, CTI. As a composer, he’s contributed several standards (notably “Red Clay” and “First Light”) to the jazz repertoire. Help celebrate Freddie Hubbard’s 70th birthday as the trumpet legend comes to Yoshi’s with an all-star band comprised of friends and alumni, including Craig Handy, David Weiss, Dwayne Burno, James Spaulding, George Cables, and special guest Bobby Hutcherson.

Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was born April 7, 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in his youth, Hubbard associated with various musicians in Indianapolis, including Wes Montgomery and Montgomery's brothers. Chet Baker was an early influence, although Hubbard soon aligned himself with the approach of Clifford Brown and his forebears: Fats Navarro and Dizzy Gillespie.

Hubbard's jazz career began in earnest after moving to New York City in 1958. While there, he worked with Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, J. J. Johnson, Philly Joe Jones, Oliver Nelson, and Quincy Jones, among others. He gained attention while playing with the seminal hard bop ensemble Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, appearing on such albums as Mosaic, Buhaina's Delight, and Free For All. He left the Messengers in 1964 to lead his own groups and since that time has maintained a high profile as a bandleader or featured as a special guest, but never merely a sideman.

Along with two other trumpeters also born in 1938, Lee Morgan and Booker Little, Hubbard exerted a strong force on the direction of 1960s jazz. He recorded extensively for Blue Note Records: eight albums as a bandleader, and twenty-eight as a sideman. Most of these recordings are regarded as classics. Hubbard appeared on a few early avant-garde landmarks (Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch and John Coltrane's Ascension), but Hubbard never fully embraced free jazz, though it has influenced his playing.

After leaving Blue Note, Hubbard recorded for the Atlantic label and moved toward a more commercial style. His next label was CTI Records where he recorded his best-known works, Red Clay, First Light, and Sky Dive. By 1970, his fiery, melodic improvisation and phenomenal technique established him as perhaps the leading trumpeter of his day, but a series of commercially oriented smooth jazz albums spawned some negative criticism. After signing with Columbia Records, Hubbard's albums were almost exclusively in a commercial vein. However, in 1976, Hubbard toured and recorded with V.S.O.P., led by Herbie Hancock which presented unadulterated jazz in the style of the 1960s Miles Davis Quintet with Hubbard taking the place of Davis.

1980s projects moved between straight-ahead and commercial styles, and Hubbard recorded for several different labels including Atlantic, Pablo, Fantasy, Elektra/Musician, and the revived Blue Note label. The slightly younger Woody Shaw was Hubbard's main jazz competitor during the 1970s and 1980s, and the two eventually recorded together on three occasions. Hubbard participated in the short-lived Griffith Park Collective, which also included Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White.

Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992, Hubbard is again playing and recording occasionally, some have said, "not at the high level that he set for himself during his earlier career".

I can't tell.

Freddie Hubbard & Friends 70th Birthday Celebration
with Bobby Hutcherson, George Cables, James Spaulding, Craig Handy, and Lenny White
Yoshi's San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore
April 4th & 5th, 2008
Friday & Saturday, all shows $28 & $32