''The Marzette Watts Ensemble'' is the second and final album by saxophonist and composer

Marzette Watts Marzette Watts (March 9, 1938, Montgomery, Alabama – March 2, 1998, Nashville) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. He performed and recorded on bass clarinet as well. He had a brief career in music and is revered for his 1966 sel ...

. It was recorded in 1968 in New York City, and was released on LP by

Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

in 1969. On the album, Watts is joined by cornetist George Turner, trombonist

Marty Cook Marty Cook (born May 1947) is an American jazz trombonist. Biography Cook was born in New York and raised in Ohio, where he began playing trombone at age seven. He played in New York in the late 1960s, recording with Marzette Watts in 1968. He p ...

, violinist Frank Kipers, vocalists Amy Schaeffer and

Patty Waters Patty Waters (born March 11, 1946) is a jazz vocalist best known for her free jazz recordings in the 1960s for the ESP-Disk label. Career Waters was born in Iowa and started singing semi-professionally in high school. After school, she sang for t ...

, pianist

Bobby Few Bobby Few (October 21, 1935 – January 6, 2021) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life Few was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the Fairfax neighborhood of the city's East Side. Upon his mother's encouragement, he stud ...

, bassists Cevera Jeffries (listed as "Cevera Jehers"), Juny Booth, and Steve Tintweiss, and drummers

J. C. Moses J.C. Moses (October 18, 1936 – 1977) was an American jazz drummer. He was born John Curtis Moses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and first began playing around Pittsburgh in the 1950s with Stanley Turrentine and brother Tommy T ...

and Tom Berge. The album was produced by

Bill Dixon William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...

, whose composition "octobersong" is featured, and who also provided liner notes and played piano on one track. ''The Marzette Watts Ensemble'' is the followup to ''

Marzette Watts and Company ''Marzette Watts and Company'', also known as ''Marzette and Company'', is the debut album by saxophonist and composer Marzette Watts. It was recorded in December 1966 in New York City, and was released by ESP-Disk in 1968. On the album, Watts is j ...

'', which was recorded in 1966 and released by

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

in 1968. "Play It Straight" and "Lonely Woman" were included in the 1979 Savoy compilation ''New Music: Second Wave''.

Reception

The editors of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded the album 4 stars. In an article for ''Paris Transatlantic'', Clifford Allen wrote: "Less of a blowing session than ''Marzette & Company'', it's a record equally deserving of reissue. It's a shame he didn't record more – three years after the debut, his chops seemed to be coming together and his tone on tenor was quite velvety – but these mysterious snapshots are enough to get at the essence of this Renaissance man well respected by his peers." Guitarist

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

included the album in his "Top Ten From The Free Jazz Underground" list, first published in 1995 in the second issue of the defunct '' Grand Royal Magazine''.

Track listing

Side A

# "octobersong" (Bill Dixon) – 7:04 # "Play It Straight" (

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

) – 3:47 # "F.L.O.A.R.S.S." (Marzette Watts) – 4:58

Side B

# "Medley" (Marzette Watts) – 9:03 # " Lonely Woman" (Ornette Coleman, lyrics by Patty Waters) – 5:52 # "Joudpoo" (Marzette Watts) – 4:04

Personnel

– tenor saxophone * George Turner – cornet *

– trombone * Frank Kipers – violin * Amy Schaeffer – vocals *

– vocals *

– piano *

– piano (track 2) * Cevera Jeffries (listed as "Cevera Jehers") – bass * Juney Booth – bass * Steve Tintweiss – bass *

– drums * Tom Berge – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzette Watts Ensemble Marzette Watts albums 1969 albums Free jazz albums Savoy Records albums