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Reggie Watkins

Trombonist, pianist, arranger and composer Reggie Watkins has released three recordings as leader: A-List (2004), One for Miles, One for Maynard (2010), and Avid Admirer (2016), a tribute to trombonist Jimmy Knepper. From 1999 to 2006 he served as trombonist and musical director for trumpeter and band leader Maynard Ferguson. Now in addition to composing and performing with his trio he is a member of Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band, The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, Postmodern Jukebox and a founding member of Steeltown Horns and The Keystone Jazz Collective.

Awards

2003 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition semi-finalist 2006 Wheeling Park High School Honored Alumnus

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: The Intangible Between

Read "The Intangible Between" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
May 19, 2020

Pianist Orrin Evans has a deep understanding of the unshakeable bond between fellowship, humanity and the creative process. That knowledge has guided him through creating a remarkable catalog of music as both a leader and sideman, along the way, experiencing the fellowship of a collective of musicians he often refers to as “The Village." The Village is indeed real, and most aptly expressed musically through the The Captain Black Big Band, Evans' ensemble of anywhere between nine and ...

Performance / Tour

Keystone Jazz Collective, Co-Founded By Pittsburgh Trombonist Reggie Watkins & Philadelphia Bassist Nimrod Speaks, Announces New Organization & July Concerts

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
June 26, 2018

The Keystone Jazz Collective is a tale of two Pennsylvania cities. jny: Pittsburgh and jny: Philadelphia, not to mention the surrounding regions, have brought far more than their share of jazz to the world. Whether it’s Billy Strayhorn and Art Blakey from Pittsburgh, Henry Mancini from the nearby town of Alquippa, or Benny Golson, John Coltrane, and McCoy Tyner from Philadelphia, the list rapidly expands to include dozens of the greatest musicians of all time periods. Now the newly formed ...
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Recording

Trombonist Reggie Watkins's "Avid Admirer: The Jimmy Knepper Project" Set For July 15 Release

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
June 30, 2016

Trombonist Reggie Watkins had the opportunity to meet trombone master Jimmy Knepper just once, shortly before Knepper’s death in June 2003. Watkins was performing in his native Wheeling, WV with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band, and Knepper, himself a Ferguson alumnus, was in the audience. The older musician complimented Watkins after the concert and shook his hand. Little did Watkins realize that a series of remarkable circumstances ten years later would lead him to record an album of Knepper ...
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Recording

Trombonist Reggie Watkins To Release "One For Miles, One For Maynard," Aug. 26

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity
July 16, 2014

If there was a lesson trombonist Reggie Watkins learned from both Maynard Ferguson and Miles Davis, it was that jazz can—and should—go anywhere it wants, stylistically. On his infectious new album, One for Miles, One for Maynard—his second as a leader and first since 2004—Watkins and his band offer deep bop grooves, soulful vigor, and sparkling interplay. The CD will be released by Corona Music on August 26. Produced by the trombonist and recorded in the historic Heid Studio in ...
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"Reggie Watkins manages to improvise with an originality and creativity avoiding clichés and predictable phrases in an entirely distinctive trombone style." – Hot House Magazine "Reggie Watkins pushes the music of Miles Davis and Maynard Ferguson to new heights!" "A forward thinking release of great depth." - Brent Black / www.criticaljazz.com "REGGIE WATKINS - One for Miles, One for Maynard: The bone man that can play anything with anybody, and has proven it repeatedly, steps up for his first date as a leader in 10 years. To mark the event, he rounds up some other Maynard Ferguson alumni and let's the big band bopping fly