* En anglais uniquement
Julius Watkins was virtually the father of the jazz French horn. He started playing French horn at the age of nine, although he worked with the
Ernie Fields orchestra on trumpet (1943-1946). In the late '40s, he took some French horn solos on records by
Kenny Clarke and
Babs Gonzales, and spent 1949 as a member of the
Milt Buckner big band. After three years of study at the Manhattan School of Music,
Watkins started appearing on small-group dates including a pair of notable sessions led by
Thelonious Monk in 1953-1954. He co-led
les Jazz Modes with
Charlie Rouse in 1956-1959; toured with
Quincy Jones' big band (1959-1961); did plenty of studio work (including the
Miles Davis-
Gil Evans collaborations); and recorded with
Charles Mingus (in 1965 and 1971),
Freddie Hubbard,
John Coltrane (the Africa sessions), and
the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, among many others. ~ Scott Yanow