Bobby Watson - Quiet as It's Kept (Red, 1998)

Bobby Watson, alto & soprano saxes
Terell Stafford, trumpet
Greg Skaff, guitar 

Orrin Evans, piano

Curtis Lundy, bass
Ralph Peterson, drums

Marion Simon, percussion

Pamela Watson, vocal (one track)

Lenny Argese, guitar (one track)

Recorded August 10 & 11, 1998
Bioya Recording Studio, Paterson, NJ
Engineer: Lenny Argese

Bobby Watson caught the "return to tradition" wave at just the right time. His first recordings from 1978 and 1979 managed to escape inheritance of 70's fusion. Instead, he formulated his own neotraditional style that featured fresh compositions and a soulful performance style.

Watson's debut, Estimated Time of Arrival (Roulette, 1978) was recorded over a period of four months and collectively involved over 20 musicians across five sessions. The album title probably is meant to signal Watson's arrival on record, but it also implies some doubt about when the project might be finished.

The follow up, All Because of You (Roulette, 1979), was recorded by a band of seven musicians in one day. I note that Watson was one of All Because of You's producers, a role he would assume for many of his subsequent albums. Not only were his self-produced albums released in a timely manner, but they were also uniformly excellent.

I made a point of following Watson's career in the 1980s as he was putting out superb music on a variety of labels, including Blue Note with his group Horizon. His Love Remains (Red, 1984) became a critical favorite, and Jewel (Amigo, 1983) became a personal favorite of mine. 

Quiet as It's Kept has been with me since it was released, and I think I could play it every day and not tire of it. It's what "smooth jazz" can only aspire to be: intelligent, beautiful, complex, soulful, and clever. It's emotional in a positive way, as if Watson wished to create something inspiring while not compromising any of the qualities that distinguish the best jazz. Although the positivity is uniform from track to track, the program is also quite varied in terms of personnel, compositions, and arrangements. 

Quiet as It's Kept begins with Orrin Evans' "Looking in Your Eyes," a showcase for Watson's beautiful alto tone. The percussionists, Ralph Peterson and Marlon Simon, lay down a shifting, rhythmic foundation while Watson and guitarist Greg Skaff solo. This piece should have words written for it. 

Watson's "Always a Friend" follows, with Skaff playing acoustic guitar alongside Watson's alto. "Afternoon in Ottobrun" finds Pamela Watson, Bobby's wife, casting a spell with her wordless vocals. "Watch the Children Play" features engineer Lenny Argese's guitar complementing Watson's alto. 

Beginning with track 7, trumpeter Terell Stafford joins the group for three numbers. He plays muted trumpet on the title track and open horn on "Nubian Breakdown" and "Nanatsu-No-No." The two horns swing mightily on "Quiet as It's Kept." The Japanese folk song also contains swinging 4/4 solos between the traditional melody statements.

Bobby Watson's long career is full of successes. Quiet as It's Kept is surely one of his best.

To read my post for Watson's Love Remains go to:

Post: Edit Love Remains.

A review of Watson's The Inventor is available at:

Post: Edit The Inventor.