Jeff "Tain" Watts

Jeff "Tain" Watts
Watts performing with Wynton Marsalis in JazzFest 2007
Background information
Born	January 20, 1960
Origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader, actor
Instruments	Drums
Labels	Dark Key Music
Associated acts	Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, The Tonight Show Band
Website	tainish.com

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

Biography

Jeff "Tain" Watts holds the unique distinction of being the only musician to appear on every Grammy Award-winning jazz record by both Wynton and Branford Marsalis.

He got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny Kirkland when they were on tour in Florida and drove past a Chieftain gas station.^[1]

Watts has worked in the film and television industry as both a musician on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for three years and as an actor, playing Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. Watts performed and recorded with the Branford Marsalis Quartet from 1985 to 2009. He currently performs with his own groups The Watts Project and the Jeff "Tain" Watts Quartet, as well as with McCoy Tyner, The George Cables Project, and Geri Allen. In 2007 Watts started his own record label, Dark Key Music, releasing Folk's Songs in 2007, Watts in 2009 and Family in 2011. Terence Blanchard won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo for Dark Key Music's "Dancin' 4 Chicken". Watts writes most of the compositions on his own albums.

Watts is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and can be seen on the album cover of Branford Marsalis's Braggtown with a Terrible Towel.

Discography

As leader

• Megawatts (2004, originally recorded in 1991)
• Citizen Tain (1999)
• Bar Talk (2002)
• DeTAINed at the Blue Note (2004)
• Folk's Songs (2007) Dark Key Music
• WATTS (2009) Dark Key Music
• Family (2011) Dark Key Music

As sideman

• Scenes in the City (1983) - Branford Marsalis
• Black Codes (From the Underground) (1985) - Wynton Marsalis
• Live at Blues Alley (1986) - Wynton Marsalis
• Standard Time Vol. 1 (1986) - Wynton Marsalis
• Royal Garden Blues (1986) - Branford Marsalis
• Open House (1988) - Harry Miller
• Random Abstract (1988) - Branford Marsalis
• Different Perspectives (JMT, 2989) - Robin Eubanks
• When Harry Met Sally... (1989) - Harry Connick, Jr.
• Trio Jeepy (1989) - Branford Marsalis
• Crazy People Music (1990) - Branford Marsalis
• The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1991) - Branford Marsalis
• I Heard You Twice the First Time (1992) - Branford Marsalis
• Bloomington (1993) - Branford Marsalis
• The Dark Keys (1996) - Branford Marsalis
• Songbook (1997) - Kenny Garrett
• Two Blocks From the Edge (1998) - Michael Brecker
• Time Is of the Essence (1999) - Michael Brecker
• Simply Said (1999) - Kenny Garrett
• Requiem (1999) - Branford Marsalis
• Contemporary Jazz (2000) - Branford Marsalis
• Footsteps of Our Fathers (2002) - Branford Marsalis
• Romare Bearden Revealed (2003) - Branford Marsalis
• Eternal (2004) - Branford Marsalis
• Translinear Light (2004) - Alice Coltrane
• A Love Supreme Live (2004) - Branford Marsalis
• Channel Three (2005) - Greg Osby
• Outside by the Swing (2005) - Chihiro Yamanaka
• Braggtown (2006) - Branford Marsalis
• Quartet (2007) - McCoy Tyner
• Letter to Herbie (2008) - John Beasley
• Metamorphosen (2009) - Branford Marsalis
• Mostly Standards (2009) - David Kikoski
• Positootly! (2009) - John Beasley
• Mingus Big Band Live at Jazz Standard (2010) - Mingus Big Band
• Circles (2010) - Benito Gonzalez
• Circular (2011) - Laura Kahle
• Undeniable (2011) - Pat Martino

Recognition

Grammy Awards

• Career Wins: 6^[2]
• Career Nominations: 15

Jeff "Tain" Watts Grammy History
Year	Category	Title	Genre	Label	Result	Notes
1986	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group	Black Codes From The Underground	Jazz	Columbia	Winner	with Wynton Marsalis.
1987	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group	J Mood	Jazz	Columbia	Winner	with Wynton Marsalis.
1988	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group	Marsalis Standard Time - Volume 1	Jazz	Columbia	Winner	with Wynton Marsalis.
1988	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group	Trio Jeepy	Jazz	Columbia	Nominated	with Branford Marsalis
1990	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group	Mo Better Blues (soundtrack)	Jazz	CBS	Nominated	with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
1993	Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual Or Group	I Heard You Twice The First Time	Jazz	Columbia	Winner	with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
1996	Best Jazz Instrumental Album	PanaMonk	Jazz	Impulse	Nominated	with Danilo Perez.
1998	Best Jazz Instrumental Album	Songbook	Jazz	Warner Bros.	Nominated	with Kenny Garrett.
2000	Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group	Requiem	Jazz	Columbia	Nominated	with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2000	Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group	Time is of the Essence	Jazz	Verve	Nominated	with Michael Brecker
2001	Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group	Contemporary Jazz	Jazz	Columbia	Winner	with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2001	Best Latin Jazz Album	Refugee	Jazz	Verve	Nominated	with Hector Martignon.
2005	Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group	Eternal	Jazz	Marsalis Music	Nominated	with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
2010	Best Jazz Instrumental Solo	Watts	Jazz	Dark Key (Watts' label)	Winner	Terence Blanchard for the track "Dancin' 4 Chicken"
2011	Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group	Positootly!	Jazz	Resonance Records	Nominated	with John Beasley.
2011	Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album	Mingus Big Band Live at Jazz Standard	Jazz	Mingus Workshop, Inc/Jazz Standard	Winner	with the Mingus Big Band

References

1. From an interview with Kevin LeGendre for Jazz On 3 on BBC Radio 3.
2. Grammy Awards list Archived February 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

• Official website
• Review of Folk's Songs at JazzChicago.net