Anyone who's been listening to modern jazz has been aware of
Jeff "Tain" Watts ever since the classic
Wynton Marsalis quintet of the mid-'80s. The general public was introduced to him through his stint on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show -- a profitable excursion that nevertheless meant there was an eight-year gap between his debut,
Megawatts, and its 1999 successor,
Citizen Tain. It was worth the wait, however.
Watts scored an enormous coup by reuniting
Wynton and
Branford Marsalis for the first time in a decade, and he surrounded them with excellent musicians -- their trombonist brother
Delfeayo Marsalis, alto saxophonist
Kenny Garrett, bassist
Reginald Veal, and pianist
Kenny Kirkland, in what sadly turned out to be one of his final sessions. At least he exited on a high note --
Citizen Tain is a dynamic collection of straight-ahead hard bop and a number of its variations, from adventurous post-bop to grooving Latin jazz. As a matter of fact, this touches on a greater variety of material than the classic
Marsalis group, and at times, it sounds even livelier. Kudos to all the musicians, of course, but special credit has to be given
Watts, who proves that he's one of the rare drummers that can lead with confidence. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine