Charlie Watts Quintet: A Tribute To Charlie Parker With Strings 1992

Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. One of the band's core members, Watts, alongside lead vocalist and frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, were the only members of the band to perform on all of their studio albums. He cited jazz as a major influence on his drumming style.
                                                                                                        

Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an interest in jazz at a young age, and joined the band Blues Incorporated. He also started playing drums in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met future bandmates Jagger, Richards, and Brian Jones.
                                                                                              

In January 1963, he left Blues Incorporated and joined the Rolling Stones as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts's first public appearance as a permanent member was in February 1963, and he remained with the group until his death 58 years later.Aside from his career with the Rolling Stones, Watts toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.
                                                                   

In the mid-1980s, Watts's previously moderate use of alcohol and drugs became problematic. "[They were] my way of dealing with [family problems] ..." he said. "I think it was a mid-life crisis. All I know is that I became totally another person around 1983 and came out of it about 1986. I nearly lost my wife and everything over my behaviour." In June 2004, Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer, despite having quit smoking in the late 1980s, and underwent a course of radiotherapy, and it later went into remission.
                                                                         

In 1991, he organised a jazz quintet as another tribute to Charlie Parker. The year 1993 saw the release of Warm and Tender, by the Charlie Watts Quintet, which included vocalist Bernard Fowler. This same group released Long Ago and Far Away in 1996. Both records included a collection of Great American Songbook standards.
                                                                          

In 1991 The Guardian described Watts as a "heroic yet quaint archetype... of the "Rock Drummer", and we are unlikely to hear their like again." The Guardian attributed his professional survival to not ever aspiring for stardom nor forcing himself into songwriting. In the July 2006 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, Watts was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, joining Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Steve Gadd, Buddy Rich and other highly esteemed and influential drummers from the history of rock and jazz.[53] That same year, Vanity Fair elected him into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. In the estimation of music critic Robert Christgau, Watts was "rock's greatest drummer".
                                                                   

In 2016, he was ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time" list. Variety stated on the day of his death that Watts is "universally recognized as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time". Music critic Rob Sheffield wrote for Rolling Stone that Watts was "rock's ultimate drum god" who "made the Stones great by conceding nothing to them".
                                                                     

This particular set, "A tribute to Charlie Parker" that features a quintet, vocalist Bernard Fowler (who sings "Lover Man" and adds some narration about Parker's life), six strings, harp, and oboe, has renditions of seven songs associated with Bird. Altoist Peter King is easily the solo star, trumpeter Gerard Presencer is decent but not on the same level, and pianist Brian Lemon also gets in some spots; Watts stays in the background. This well-intentioned program is well worth acquiring and its highlights include versions of "Just Friends," "Dewey Square," and "Perdido."

Live at Ronnie Scotts Birmingham UK
Label; Psycho 74321 120412
Country: Italy
Genre: Jazz
Style: Big Band
Year: 1992

TRACKS

 

01. Intro     0:25
02. Practicing, Practicing, Just Great     6:06
03. Black Bird, White Chicks     5:10
04. Bluebird     4:28
05. Bound for New York     5:46
06. Terra de Pajaro     3:57
07. Bad Seeds-Rye Drinks     4:57
08. Relaxin' at Camarillo     3:54
09. Going, Going, Going, Gone     7:08
10. Just Friends     3:18
11. Cool Blues     3:17
12. Dancing in the Dark     3:22
13. Dewey's Square     5:37
14. Rocker     4:05
15. Lover Man     6:31
16. Perdido     7:19

MP3 @ 320 Size: 176 MB
Flac  Size: 443 MB