- Eric Watson (musician)
Eric Watson (born
July 5 ,1955 ) is a US-Americanjazz pianist and composer living inParis .After absolving his studies at the Oberlin Conservatory Watson moved to Paris as accompanist of a dance company. In 1982 he recorded a first trio recording with
Paul Motian andEd Schuller („Conspiracy“) followed by two solo albums. Since then he worked in a long-time duo with doublebass player John Lindberg which became extended withAlbert Mangelsdorff andEd Thigpen . Watson also worked withSteve Lacy , withLinda Sharrock and withJoëlle Léandre („Palimpseste“, 1991). His Trio withMark Dresser and Ed Thigpen („Silent Hearts“, 1998) was the basis for the „Full Metal Quartets“ (1999/2000) with saxophone playerBennie Wallace . His solo piano recording „Sketches of Solitude“ (2002) became one of the best-selling jazz albums in France. In 2003 and 2005 he toured in Europa, Asia, and Australia withChristof Lauer .His dance score „The Peking Ballet“ was commissioned by Radio City Music Hall and seen by 200,000 people during the summer of 1984, while multi-concert series of his music have been presented by the
Lyon Opera and the State Theater in Poitiers. His numerous commissions include „Martial Arts“ (1986) written forMartial Solal and the "Orchestre National de Jazz" (French National Jazz Orchestra) and „Bénévoles“, written for the Australian violinistJane Peters .In 2001, Watson was appointed artistic director of "La Villette Jazz Festival", and musical consultant to the director of the Cité de la Musique,
Laurent Bayle . In 2003 he was appointed as a „Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres “.External links and sources
* http://nfo.net/calendar/jul05.htm
* http://www.actmusic.com/artist_detail.php?bio=1&manufacturers_id=28
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