JEEF TAIN WATTS FAMILY

JEFF “TAIN” WATTS FAMILY

Jeff “Tain” Watts

Family

(Dark Key)

Jeff “Tain” Watts is among the most gifted drummers of his generation, a timekeeper who moderates tremendous technical skills with a rare understanding of when to lay back and when to let loose. And while his efforts as a bandleader and composer aren’t as celebrated as his work with the Marsalis brothers and other jazz stars, the recordings on which his name appears above the title — not just on back-cover credits — provide consistently entertaining forums for his music.

On [i]Family[i], Watts teams with saxophonist Steve Wilson, upright bassist James Genus and pianist David Kikoski. All are formidable talents, but none so famous — or inclined — to force the drummer to fight for attention on his own session. Watts remains the focus of the album, even while sharing the spotlight.

On the opening title track, Watts lays down a subtle but beguiling rhythm, which Kikoski echoes. Then, Wilson enters astride a melodic theme that offers him many opportunities to stretch. The sax-drums interplay on key solos brims with precision and passion.

The next cut, “Of August Moon,” is intermittently herky-jerky, keeping listeners off-balance in an intriguing way. “Goldaze” traffics in thrilling tension. Watts plays between sonic explosions, his drums vibrating with the expectation of blasts to come. But he proves just as comfortable bringing the swing on “Jonesin’ (for Elvin),” gracefully navigating “A Wreath for John T. Smith” and jousting with the entire crew on the final “Torch E-Ternal.”

All the tunes on [i]Family[i] may not be classic, but the manner in which Watts surveys them most certainly is.

— Michael Roberts

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