Ernie Watts was born in Norfolk, Virginia and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He is an American jazz composer and saxophonist, best known for his unique, universally-recognized sound. Watts was greatly influenced by John Coltrane’s playing on “Kind of Blue”, and began studying saxophone when he was 13. He was 16 when he started playing with the Delaware Symphony as a featured soloist. However, he also learned jazz by ear. Watts graduated from high school and studied music at West Chester University. He was awarded a Downbeat scholarship to Berklee College of Music, Boston’s renowned school for jazz. He was invited to join Buddy Rich’s big-band tour in 1966 while he was at Berklee. He moved to Los Angeles in 1968, where he played with big bands like Oliver Nelson, Louis Bellson and Gerald Wilson. Watts was first-call for reeds at the LA studios. He won Most Valuable Player awards for film, television and music recording over 25 years. Watts can be heard in film scores such as The Color Purple, Ghostbusters and Tootsie, Fame, and The Fabulous Baker Boys. He recorded studio albums along with Marvin Gaye and Frank Zappa, Aretha and Steely Dan, as well as many other pop, rock and R artists.
