<![CDATA[<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> London Jazz Composers' Orchestra,SME,Trevor Watts/Veryan Weston duo,The Celebration Band,ARC,Trevor Watts,Gibran Cervantes Group (Mexico),Moiré Music Group, Veryan Weston duo bf <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Born in York, England; composer/arranger/alto & sop saxes/piano/percussion.<br> Trevor Watts' family moved to Halifax in Yorkshire when he was 6 months old,<br> and that is where he was brought up.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor is a completely self taught musician, and his early inspirations came<br> from his fathers love of Jazz, and the large collection of 78's that his<br> father brought back after living in Canada and visiting the States on many<br> occasions in the 1920's.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor had to do his National Service in the RAF, and joined the RAF band in<br> 1959. It was there he met John Stevens and Paul Rutherford amongst others<br> and formed the musical association that was to become the Spontaneous Music<br> Ensemble and<span class="trevorwatts"> Amalgam</span> in the early 60's. These groups radically changed the<br> face of European style Jazz and improvised music, and opened up the way for<br> others. Shortly before the formation of the SME in 1965, Trevor had gained<br> some experience playing at the Marquee Club in London with the likes of<br> Sonny Boy Williamson, Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart amongst others.<br> The SME although starting as a collective, gradually was taken over by John<br> Stevens, so Trevor used his group Amalgam to further his own more personal<br> style of music.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Amalgam incorporated many different elements within the music. These<br> elements were mainly introduced by the different types of musicians within<br> the group. Trevor always believing that it didn't matter what "style" a<br> person played, but that if the desire was there to play together, a way<br> could be found. This resulted in wrong labels being placed on the group at<br> certain times in the 70's like "Jazz Rock" for instance, but as Watts never<br> acknowledges verbal cliches to describe a music, it certainly was never an<br> attempt at "Jazz Rock". In the same way, the the Moire Music Drum Orchestra<br> wasn't an attempt at "Afro Jazz". These projects were a way of creating a<br> situation whereby musicians of different persuasions could function together<br> without radically changing the way they each individually played. Some of<br> those who passed through Amalagam were such as Barry Guy, Harry Miller, John<br> Stevens, Stan Tracey, Paul Rutherford and others. But the most significant<br> period for that group was between around 1974 and 1979. That was the group<br> of Keith Rowe (guitar), Colin McKenzie (Bass Gtr), Liam Genockey (Drums) and<br> Trevor Watts (alto & sop saxes). This quartet worked long and hard on the<br> music (Impetus: Wipe Out).</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor also had a very important duo with drummer Liam Genockey for many<br> years, but unfortunately they never recorded.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Watts was a member of the Louis Moholo Group that toured with American tenor<br> saxist Frank Wright, and also on other occasions. Stan Tracey's Open Circle<br> (with John Stevens & Danny Thompson), also Stan's Tentacles group. Splinters<br> with Stan, John, Kenny Wheeler, Tubby Hayes, Phil Seaman, Jeff Clyne. London<br> Jazz Composers Orchestra from its inception in 1972. Bobby Bradford Quartet<br> (Bobby was the original trumpeter with Ornette Coleman) amongst others, and<br> Watts has played with Steve Lacy, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Denardo Coleman,<br> poet Jayne Cortez and violinist Peter Knight of Steeleye Span outside of his<br> own groups.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> When Trevor moved to Hastings in 1980 he began taking more of an interest in<br> composition. He then formed the first 10 piece Moire Music Group in order to<br> play these compositions. The first performances were in 1982 at the<br> Roundhouse in London, and Bracknell Jazz Festival, and caused quite a stir<br> at the time. Original members included Lol Coxhill, Veryan Weston, Nana<br> Tsiboe, Mamadi Kamara, Liam Genockey and Larry Stabbins amongst others.<br> Larry went on to form the group Working Week. To keep his improvising side<br> going Trevor formed the original Trevor Watts Drum Orchestra at the same<br> time (1982), which included Nana Tsiboe and Mamadi Kamara on African<br> Percussion, Liam Genockey, Ernest Mothle from S Africa on bass as well as<br> Peter Knight (Violin) and Watts. It was always Trevors desire to include the<br> African rhythmic element within the improvised musical form, and it was this<br> group that first achieved that.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Moire Music eventually became a 14 piece in 1984 and included singers Phil<br> MInton, Maggie Nichols and S African Pinise Saul. That group lasted until<br> 1988 when Trevor changed direction a little and formed the Moire Music that<br> included singer Lianne Carroll, tenorist Simon Pickard, Veryan Weston &<br> others.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> In 1990 Trevor gave up the Moire music group as a compositional entity, and<br> merged the names of the two groups into one Moire Music Drum Orchestra.<br> Included in that group were 4 African drummers, bass guitar, drums and his<br> saxophones. Initially in 1990 the group had a 6 week tour of Canada, USA,<br> Venezuela and Mexico, and it was on that tour that the music was shaped and<br> honed. The Moire Drum Orchestra lasted until about 1998 and in that time<br> toured all over the World including Colombia, Venezuela, Caribbean Islands,<br> Burma (Twice), India, Singapore Arts Festival, Malaysia, USA, Canada, Azores<br> Islands, S Africa, Botswana and Lesotho amongst others places. It was during<br> the original tour in 1990 that Watts and group met and played with members<br> of the Teatro Negro de Barlovento, black performance group from Venezuela.<br> It was Watts' idea to join the two together and see what happens. So the<br> British Council sent Watts to Venezuela in 1991 to study the music of<br> Barlovento and make arrangements for some concerts in Europe. This happened<br> in 1992 and became a 35 piece group of singers, dancers, actors and<br> instrumentalists. They performed at the Saalfelden Festival in Austria and<br> Crawley Festival in England as well as 2 very successful nights at London's<br> Jazz Cafe. Watts and Drum Orchestra returned to Venzuela in 1995 for a<br> reciprocal tour over there, playing in Caracas as well as other cities. The<br> group was named "Una Sola Voz" after the title of the Moire Music recording<br> on ARC called "With One Voice".</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Subsequently the Drum Orchestra is no more, but Moire Music have been<br> performing in various sizes as a Trio, Quartet and Quintet, and also visited<br> many countries such as Sudan, Cameroon, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada,<br> Jamaica (including playing for the Prime Minister), Trinidad, Dominican<br> Republic, Ecuador and Bolivia amongst many other countries as a smaller<br> unit.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Some major festivals they have performed at are Womad (UK), Glastonbury,<br> Berlin Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Khartoum Festival,<br> Penang Festival, Sarawak Festival, Wangaratta Jazz Festival (Australia),<br> Vancouver Jazz Festival (twice), Ottawa Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz<br> Festival, Washington DC Jazz Festival (twice), Cervantino Festival, Mexico<br> and Monterey Jazz Festival in California amongst many others.<br> Currently (2002), as well as Moire Music Watts now has formed a new group<br> that is more closely associated with the compositional side of the original<br> Moire Music project. It is called Trevor Watts and the Celebration Band and<br> is a new 8 piece ensemble (4 saxes/guitar/bass guitar/percussion/drums), and<br> again is causing quite a stir. The band recorded a new CD on Watts own ARC<br> label called Trevor Watts and the Celebration Band (ARC 010) and is now<br> playing many concerts and festivals.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Watts also has a new improvising duo with his long term associate, pianist<br> Veryan Weston, and a new CD with Weston on the Emanem label called "6<br> Dialogues".</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor is part of a new group that was formed in Mexico and has just<br> recorded a double album over there. That project is run by Mexican musician<br> Gibran Cervantes who has built his own instrument made out of many Berimbaus<br> wired together ( a magnificent structure and interesting sound), also in the<br> group is Cyro Baptista, Brazilian percussionist with John Zorn and Wynton<br> Marsalis, Tino, a percussionist from Cuba and Francisco Bringas from Mexico<br> who plays tablas amongst other things.Watts has had many commissions and <br> grants over the years, and some of these </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">are;</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1970: Thames TV scholarship with John Stevens to teach improvisation at John<br> Cass school in the East End of London</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 1984 14 piece Moire Music Group Bracknell Festival commission</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 1985 10 piece Moire Music Group Contemporary Music Network Tour in the UK.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 1992 Arts Council grant for new compositions for joint Moiré Music Drum </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Orchestra <br> and Teatro Negro de Barlovento (Venezuela) collaboration<br> (35-piece) plus Visiting Arts support.</font><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Also: Other Arts Council grants for compositions and recordings and many<br> British Council tours since 1988 up until the present time.<br> Current groups are:</font><p><ul><li><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <a class="links" href="//thecelebrationband.whistlingmule.html" target="_blank"><i>Trevor Watts and The Celebration Band</i></a></font><li><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor Watts Moiré Music Group</font></i><li><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Trevor Watts/Veryan Weston duo</font></i><li><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Gibran Cervantes Group (Mexico)</font></i></ul><p></body>]]>