Jeff "Tain" Watts

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

Jeff "Tain" Watts
Watts performing with Wynton Marsalis in JazzFest 2007
Background information
OriginPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader, actor
InstrumentsDrums
LabelsDark Key Music
Associated actsWynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, The Tonight Show Band
Websitetainish.com

Biography

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

As leader
  • Megawatts (Sunnyside, 1991)
  • Citizen Tain (Columbia, 1999)
  • Bar Talk (Columbia, 2002)
  • Detained at the Blue Note (Half Note, 2004)
  • Watts (Dark Key Music, 2009)
  • And to the Republic with ELEW (Sunnyside, 2016)
  • Detained in Amsterdam (Dark Key Music, 2018)

As sideman

With Paul Bollenback

  • Double Gemini (Challenge, 1997)
  • Soul Grooves (Challenge, 1999)
  • Double Vision (Challenge, 2000)
  • Dreams (Challenge, 2001)

With Conrad Herwig

  • Osteology (Criss Cross, 1998)
  • Unseen Universe (Criss Cross, 2000)
  • Land of Shadow (Criss Cross, 2002)
  • Reflections (Criss Cross, 2016)

With David Kikoski

  • The Maze (Criss Cross, 1999)
  • Almost Twilight (Criss Cross, 2000)
  • Combinations (Criss Cross, 2001)
  • Surf's Up (Criss Cross, 2001)
  • The Five (DIW, 2002)
  • Mostly Standards (Criss Cross, 2009)
  • Consequences (Criss Cross, 2012)

With Branford Marsalis

With Wynton Marsalis

  • Wynton Marsalis (Columbia, 1982)
  • Think of One (CBS, 1983)
  • Hot House Flowers (Columbia, 1984)
  • Black Codes (from the Underground) (Columbia, 1985)
  • J Mood (Columbia, 1986)
  • Marsalis Standard Time Vol. 1 (Columbia, 1987)
  • The Wynton Marsalis Quartet Live at Blues Alley (CBS, 1988)
  • Hot House (CBS, 1989)
  • Standard Time Vol. 2 (Columbia, 1991)
  • Thick in the South (Columbia, 1991)

With Courtney Pine

  • The Vision's Tale (Antilles, 1989)
  • Within the Realms of Our Dreams (Antilles, 1991)
  • Underground (Talkin' Loud, 1997)

With others

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards
Year Category Title Genre Result Notes
1985 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group Black Codes From the Underground Jazz Winner with Wynton Marsalis
1986 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group J Mood Jazz Winner with Wynton Marsalis
1987 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group Marsalis Standard Time - Vol. 1 Jazz Winner with Wynton Marsalis
1992 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group I Heard You Twice the First Time Jazz Winner 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 Winner 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 Winner with the Mingus Big Band

Source:[4]

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