1985 · Black Codes (From the Underground)
Black Codes (From the Underground)
Library — Drums
Jeff "Tain" Watts
2 albums as leader and 23 as sideman (1982–2021), each listed chronologically.
As Leader · 2
As Sideman · 23
Notes on these albums · 6
Charnett Moffett
Kenny Kirkland
Wynton Marsalis1999 · Citizen Tain
In 1984, Wynton Marsalis — already a rising star — called his quintet's pianist Kenny Kirkland and drummer Jeff 'Tain' Watts the best young players on the scene, yet completely unrecognized. The spotlight stayed on the leader; the sidemen he rated above himself remained unknown.
— Statement stmt-wynton-marsalis-on-kenny-kirkland
1982 · Wynton Marsalis and 1 more
In 1982, when Wynton asked his brother Branford who he knew for a new band, the answer was: call Kenny Kirkland, and put Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums. Watts was an unknown Berklee student at the time; that single recommendation set the entire rhythm section of Wynton's 1980s quartet and put both men on the map.
— Statement stmt-branford-marsalis-on-kenny-kirkland
1991 · Kenny Kirkland
Full concert of the post-Kirkland Branford Marsalis
— Branford Marsalis Quartet - North Sea Jazz, Prime Video / Stingray Qello, 1999
1996 · The Dark Keys
Kenny Kirkland played on a long list of records, among them Black Codes (From the Underground) in 1985, yet he put out exactly one album under his own name: Kenny Kirkland, in 1991. The drummer on it was Jeff "Tain" Watts, who had been sitting next to him on Black Codes six years earlier.
2003 · Romare Bearden Revealed
In the early 1980s, Wynton Marsalis said his quintet's arrangements weren't dictated by the bandleader: whatever chord Kenny Kirkland played became the chord of the tune, and whatever beat Jeff 'Tain' Watts played became its meter.
— Statement stmt-wynton-marsalis-on-kenny-kirkland-2
