Fortunately,
Watts has all the space he wants on The
Lockdown Solos. Recorded in April and May this year, these concise yet
searching performances – presented as ‘I so Elated’ parts one to eight –
alternate between alto and soprano and reveal just what a formidable player he
is. On alto especially, it’s clear that jazz – and be-bop in particular – still
inform his thinking. There’s an incredible Bird-like fluidity to his runs,
ideas tumbling and cascading from the horn at lightning speed and with pinpoint
precision. Elsewhere, he gleefully digs into rhythmic patterns, showing just
what a funky player he can also be – as attested by his work with outfits such
as Amalgam and Moire Music – while on soprano, he veers into more avant garde
territory, generating multiphonic overtones. To echo Picasso’s apocryphal
witticism, these improvisations don’t just take a few minutes to play; each is
the result of a lifetime of toil.
