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Heath Watts

Heath Watts is a soprano saxophonist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who specializes in free improvisation and free jazz. He has released two albums on Leo Records, Bright Yellow With Bass with bassist Blue Armstrong in 2017, and Breathe If You Can with drummer Dan Pell in 2008. Roeba Records released Philadelphia Company #1 in 2007 with Watts, drummer Dan Pell, and guitarist Barry Chabala. He has also self-released the album 2x with pianist Alexandra Swaney in 2007. Heath enjoys the duo format because of the intimacy of the interaction duos offer, but he also enjoys solo and larger group improvisation.

A soprano saxophone specialist, Heath includes Steve Lacy, John Coltrane, Evan Parker, David Liebman, and Lol Coxhill among his major influences. While learning to play the soprano saxophone, he relied heavily on the pedagogical materials of NEA Jazz Master David Liebman. Heath has had the opportunity to perform with David Liebman, Sam Newsome, Vinny Golia, Andrew Cyrille, Marc Helias Andrew Raffo Dewar, Jack Wright, François Grillot, Jay Rosen, Michael Szekely, and Matt Lavelle.

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5
Album Review

Heath Watts: Bright Yellow with Bass

Read "Bright Yellow with Bass" reviewed by John Sharpe


Musicians gravitate towards the sprawling conurbations like New York and Chicago because of the potential for exposure, the pool of talented collaborators and the sheer pull of tradition. But if ever proof were needed that excellent music thrives outside of the these febrile centers, then it can be found on Bright Yellow With Bass. Soprano saxophonist Heath Watts now resides in Philadelphia, and his last issued record dates back to Breathe If You Can (Leo, 2008), so clearly he doesn't ...

95
Album Review

Heath Watts - Blue Armstrong: Bright Yellow with Bass

Read "Bright Yellow with Bass" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


The musicians underscore the tone of this program by citing a quote from renowned artist Wassily Kandinsky: “The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes or dark lake with treble." But of course, the interpretations are decided by the listening audience, especially since most of these works are steeped in the free-jazz realm. Heath Watts (soprano sax) and Blue Armstrong (bass) yield a ...

274
Album Review

Heath Watts and Dan Pell: Breathe If You Can

Read "Breathe If You Can" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Philadelphia residents, soprano saxophonist Heath Watts and drummer Dan Pell, improvise with relentless passion here. But they uncannily combine a tight-knit vibe while simultaneously expanding their repertoire via an angular, intuitive and muscular gait. Inspired by visual artists such as Kandinsky and Picasso, the saxophonist coins his methodology, NODOT (Non-Objective Dynamically Ordered Tones). With their inaugural release for Leo Records, the artists delve into quite a bit of give-and-take exercises, supplanted by multihued free-form excursions that pack a hearty punch.

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