AS DEPENDABLE AS THE SUNRISE…Ernie Watts Quartet: Home Light

One of the most reliable tenor saxes of our generation has to be the venerable Ernie Watts, who held the chair for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show as well as being a first-call guy on tons of studio shows and movies. Here , the Angeleno brings together a strong team of Christof Saenger/p, Rudi Engel/b and Heinrich Koebberling/dr for a strong collection of material from both the band and beyond. A heartfelt tribute to old friend and drummer Ndgugu Chancler (who passed away last year) features Watts’ rich vibrato delivering a graceful eulogy on “Home Light.” Watts features both soprano and tenor saxes on the Latin-mooded “Joe” while the rest of the time his tenor swings to the post bop “I Forgot August” and fills the room on the ballad “Horion.” He does a nice little dance with Engel on the bouncy “O.P.” while dancing along Saenger’s lyrical piano for the nimble “Distant Friends.” Like all good friends, to which this album is dedicated, Watts’ latest release is reliable, comfortable and glad you got to know it.

www.erniewatts.com

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