Julius Watkins

Julius Watkins was virtually the father of the jazz French horn. He started playing French horn at the age of nine, although he worked with the <a href="spotify:artist:4hGOBEZol2IU38LFZluW7K">Ernie Fields</a> orchestra on trumpet (1943-1946). In the late '40s, he took some French horn solos on records by <a href="spotify:artist:7xwlN7fhoOwNgDmRTwYZOa">Kenny Clarke</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1cNfD0wVetbHjuDsosNCQO">Babs Gonzales</a>, and spent 1949 as a member of the <a href="spotify:artist:6R8OZtD9TL5Wki7Shzm8fb">Milt Buckner</a> big band. After three years of study at the Manhattan School of Music, Watkins started appearing on small-group dates including a pair of notable sessions led by <a href="spotify:artist:4PDpGtF16XpqvXxsrFwQnN">Thelonious Monk</a> in 1953-1954. He co-led les Jazz Modes with <a href="spotify:artist:4WjOiUFD5b9kpa8LfdxkvM">Charlie Rouse</a> in 1956-1959; toured with <a href="spotify:artist:3rxIQc9kWT6Ueg4BhnOwRK">Quincy Jones</a>' big band (1959-1961); did plenty of studio work (including the <a href="spotify:artist:0kbYTNQb4Pb1rPbbaF0pT4">Miles Davis</a>-<a href="spotify:artist:7g9DeYASD3RzlT4kDchsQZ">Gil Evans</a> collaborations); and recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:1W8TbFzNS15VwsempfY12H">Charles Mingus</a> (in 1965 and 1971), <a href="spotify:artist:0fTHKjepK5HWOrb2rkS5Em">Freddie Hubbard</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2hGh5VOeeqimQFxqXvfCUf">John Coltrane</a> (the Africa sessions), and <a href="spotify:artist:0NwUEueIvj75HohOFizqDV">the Jazz Composer's Orchestra</a>, among many others. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi