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Wikipedia / Jeff "Tain" Watts

Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is an American jazz drummer and composer who has worked across genres including Grammy wins with The Metropolitan Opera, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis Quartet and Mingus Big Band. Performing with Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Kenny Garrett, McCoy Tyner, Ravi Coltrane, and others.

Biography

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

Discography

As leader

  • 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

With John Beasley

  • Letter to Herbie (Resonance, 2008)

  • Positootly! (Resonance, 2009)

With Paul Bollenback

  • Double Gemini (Challenge, 1997)

  • Soul Grooves (Challenge, 1999)

  • Double Vision (Challenge, 2000)

  • Dreams (Challenge, 2001)

With Michael Brecker

With Joey Calderazzo

  • Simply Music (Lost Chart, 1997)

  • Joey Calderazzo (Columbia, 2000)

With Charles Fambrough'

  • The Proper Angle (CTI, 1991)

  • The Charmer (CTI, 1992)

With Kenny Garrett

  • Songbook (Warner, Bros., 1997)

  • Simply Said (Warner, Bros., 1999)

With Jimmy Greene

  • Forever (Criss Cross, 2004)

  • Flowers Beautiful Life Vol. 2 (Mack Avenue, 2017)

With David Gilmore

  • Unified Presence (RKM Music, 2006)

  • Numerology Live at Jazz Standard (Evolutionary Music, 2012)

With Conrad Herwig

  • Osteology (Criss Cross, 1998)

  • Unseen Universe (Criss Cross, 2000)

  • Land of Shadow (Criss Cross, 2002)

  • Reflections (Criss Cross, 2016)

With Stanley Jordan

  • Cornucopia (Blue Note, 1990)

  • Live in New York (Blue Note, 1998)

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 Joe Locke

  • Beauty Burning (Sirocco, 2000)

  • Storytelling (Sirocco, 2001)

With Branford Marsalis

With Ellis Marsalis Jr.'

  • Ellis Marsalis Trio (Somethin' Else, 1991)

  • Whistle Stop (CBS, 1994)

With Wynton Marsalis

With Mingus Big Band

With Greg Osby

  • Art Forum (Blue Note, 1996)

  • Channel Three (Blue Note, 2005)

With Makoto Ozone

  • Live & Let Live Love for Japan (Verve, 2011)

  • My Witch's Blue (Verve, 2012)

With Danilo Perez

  • Panamonk (Impulse!, 1996)

  • Central Avenue (Impulse!, 1998)

With Courtney Pine

  • The Vision's Tale (Antilles, 1989)

  • Within the Realms of Our Dreams (Antilles, 1991)

  • Underground (Talkin' Loud, 1997)

With Robert Stewart

  • In the Gutta (Qwest, 1996)

  • The Force (Qwest, 1998)

With Sadao Watanabe

  • Parker's Mood (Elektra, 1985)

  • Tokyo Dating (Elektra, 1985)

With Warren Wolf

With others

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

References