Citizen Tain

Jeff "Tain" Watts | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 17, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 17, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000JT4W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,165 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Impaler

2. Muphkin Man

3. Attainment

4. Pools of Amber

5. Blutain, Jr.

6. Wry Koln

7. MLK Shake-Up Call

8. Paen [Marie/Jehanne/Karmia]

9. Sigmund Groid

10. Trieste

11. Blutain's Big Adventure

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The breakout album for Wynton Marsalis in 1985 was Black Codes (From the Underground), and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts's furious and finnessed volcanic drumming helped define it as a classic. Playing with Branford Marsalis through numerous recordings and The Tonight Show further spotlighted Watts's talents. Which brings us to this major-label debut, which reunites the spirit of the Black Codes ensemble, teaming the Marsalis brothers, the late pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Reginald Veal, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. Watts is one of the few drummers who took Elvin Jones's concepts and made his own statements with them. Watts not only plays the drums but inspires the rhythmic impetus in his fellow bandmates, as evidenced by the mercurial improvisations from Wynton and Branford on the neo-classic "The Impaler" and the Latinesque "Why Koln?" Thelonious Monk's sidestepping soft-shoe rhythms are the main course on "Muphkin Man," courtesy of Kirkland's sanctified pianisms, and "Attainment" sounds like it was the missing track from John Coltrane's classic Love Supreme album. Watts's cymbal shimmers radiate on the plaintive lullaby waltz "Pools of Amber," and Watts brings the turbulent '60s from his drum kit to your eardrums on the "Destruction & Rebirth Suite." "Blutain Jr." is a blues that rolls with a catchy, hot-potato melody that is augmented on "Blutain's Big Adventure." Throughout the recording Watts maintains the high level of restraint and creativity that makes him the celebrated musician that he is. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing...just what you'd expect from this brilliant drummer, August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Citizen Tain (Audio CD)

Jeff "Tain" Watts is, without a doubt, one of the best jazz drummers out there today. I've seen the man live many times, and he just flat-out kills. His new album is the best jazz release I've heard this year. Assembled here is a wealth of talent, including the Marsalis brothers, the incredible Kenny Kirkland, and the sensational alto player Kenny Garrett, for a collection of tunes that swing so hard you might get seasick. Of course, Tain's playing is top-notch -- the man GROOVES. If you like real jazz (not that smooth jazz garbage) you will totally dig this album.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real discovery, October 1, 2002

By 

bencharif (Staten Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Citizen Tain (Audio CD)

I first heard Jeff Tain Watts on Branford Marsalis's "Footsteps of Our Fathers" CD. His playing was a standout; crisp, multidimensional, intelligent. And so I bought this debut CD, recorded about four years ago.

I find myself returning to "Citizen Tain" again and again, playing it in my office, playing it on the street. It's that rich, that varied. Smart and tight, languid, romantic, introspective, impassioned. And sounding so easy, so inevitable, like the sun rising in the East. Each time I listen, I find something I hadn't quite gotten before.

I feel fortunate to have discovered "Citizen Tain."

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On my 2000 "Best List", April 25, 2000

By 

Mark Turner "markT" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Citizen Tain (Audio CD)

Having purchased this cd a few weeks ago, I must state that this is a fantastic cd. Jeff Tain is a superb drummer and his choices on this recording are excellent. All artists display excellent musicianship. There's a special and sad sentiment to the late great Kenny Kirkland. His playing is outstanding. This cd grooves, moves, and inspires. This is what true jazz is all about.