Lucius “Lu” Watters was a trumpeter, bandleader, and singer in the Yerba Buena Jazz Band, which participated in the “West Coast revival” Dixieland music. He was born December 19, 1911, Santa Cruz, California. He died November 5, 1989, Santa Rosa, California. This is a relational jazz because the musicians were mainly white and had no or very few connections to New Orleans. At the age of 11, he was playing trumpet and his first job was on a cruise liner. After working for Bob Crosby, he decided to start a Dixieland-style group. In 1939, he founded the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. It would remain a major force in the Dixieland revival over the next 11 years with a slight off-period due to the war. He disbanded the band in 1950 and retired from full-time music playing in 1957. He studied geology, and taught the subject at Sonoma State University. He was particularly interested in coastal earthquake conditions. He became a chef. He made a small return in 1963 by playing with Turk Murphy during anti-nuclear rallies. He opposed the construction of a nuclear power plant on the San Andreas Fault. His interest in earthquakes and geology was the reason. He returned to his career as a geologist, and chef. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
