The globe-spanning adventures of a British saxophonist have included free improvisation and ebullient music inspired African rhythms. British saxophonist Trevor Watts first became involved in the British free jazz scene and improvised music scene in the mid-’60s. His involvement in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, as well as other projects with John Stevens made him well-known. Watts was the leader of Amalgam in the 1970s, before moving to his Moire Music projects that were influenced by African music from the 1980s to the new millennium. Watts incorporated Moire Music concepts in the music of the Celebration Band, Hastings, England. As the decade progressed, Watts became more involved in intimate musical settings. He also reunited with Veryan Weston, his longtime musical collaborator, to improvise in a duo. Watts was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire. He listened to his dad’s jazz and swing records, and learned to play the alto saxophone that he received from his parents. He joined the Royal Air Force in the late ’50s to early ’60s. While stationed in Germany, he met and started making music with trombonist Paul Rutherford. Watts founded the New Jazz Orchestra after he had left the RAF. This orchestra supported bluesmen like Sonny Boy Williamson and rock musicians. In the mid-’60s, a quintet formed with Stevens and Rutherford. This group was given the Spontaneous Music Ensemble moniker in 1966 when London’s Little Theatre Club opened. SME, an improvisation-based group, went through several lineup changes. Watts left the group in 1967 to form Amalgam. Amalgam initially featured Barry Guy as trombonist and Barry Guy as bassist. However, Amalgam was first recorded with Watts, Stevens, Jeff Clyne, or Guy as drummer (as heard on Prayer for Peace), their debut Transatlantic Records disc from 1969). Amalgam was a continuing concern for the saxophonist, but he also collaborated with other projects and returned to the SME. Watts and Stevens were the core of the SME’s rotating band of musicians until Watts left in the middle of the 1970s. The saxophonist also performed with Guy and other British improvisers in London Jazz Composers Orchestra. The SME was best known for its free improvisation. Amalgam used Watts-composed songs as a point of departure for jazz-styled explorations. It was a dynamic group that evolved over time, led by Watts while allowing its members to explore their musical interests. Amalgam began as an acoustic band. It saw many lineup changes, including Keith Tippett, pianist on Innovation, which was released in 1975 by Tangent Records. Amalgam evolved into an electric group in the mid- and late ’70s. The rhythm section consisted of Colin McKenzie, drummer Liam Genockey, and Watts, alto and soprano, saxophones. A number of guitarists were part of the group during this period. AMM’s Keith Rowe was one such guitarist, and was part in a quartet that formed between 1978-80. Watts later described Amalgam’s period — which was documented in the four-LP Live Box Set Wipe Out in 1979 on the Impetus label — as one of their most creative. This was due to the band members’ ability to find commonality in expression, given their diverse backgrounds in areas such as blues, jazz, creativeimprovisation, soul, rock, funk and abstract sound arts. Watts was a familiar name for free music. However, Watts started leading groups under the Moire Music moniker in the 1980s and 1990s. These groups focused on African rhythms to inspire composition and improvisation. The Moire Music ensembles, which started as a ten-piece group following Watts’ 1980 move to Hastings, featured many configurations, including the Moire Music Trio and Moire Music Sextet. They also included the Moire Music Drum Orchestra, which was a merger of Moire Music with the Trevor Watts Drum Orchestra. Watts formed the latter in 1982. These groups released recordings on several labels, including ECM (the Moire Music Drum Orchestra’s A Wider Emblem, 1994), Cadillac (1987), Intakt (19Moire Music Trio), 1995), Watts’ Arc imprint (Trevor Watts’ Moire Music, 1985, With One Voice, 1988, Live at the Athens Concert Hall in 2000), and Watts’ own Arc imprint. Watts reunited in 1999 with Peter Knight, a violinist from Steeleye Span, who had previously played in Moire Music. One of these duo shows was later recorded on the album Reunion live in London (Hi4Head Records 2008). Watts also began to lead workshops for local musicians under the guidance of Jamie Harris, a Brighton-based community arts organization. The workshops were in preparation for an outdoor performance at Hastings. Trevor Watts
