David Watson at the Blue Room
About this Event
David Leshare Watson was eight years old when Ella Fitzgerald's "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" got its hooks in him, growing up in a Philadelphia neighborhood that John Coltrane, Ray Bryant, and Shirley Scott once called home. He taught himself to scat the old way — singing along with records of Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks, King Pleasure, and Dizzy Gillespie until the language was his own.
His path to the bandstand runs through one of the great jazz rooms of the 20th century: after the Army, Watson spent four years tending bar at Philly's Showboat Jazz Theater, soaking up Miles, Coltrane, and Monk from behind the rail — until bassist Walter Booker, of Sonny Rollins and Cannonball Adderley fame, heard him and told him to stop pouring and start singing. He turned pro at 34, cut his debut album at 61, and never looked back. His record Big Town says everything about the company he keeps: Mickey Roker, Dizzy Gillespie's drummer, and Bob Cranshaw, Sonny Rollins' bassist of forty years, swinging behind that warm, nimble voice. Along the way he's shared stages with Bobby Hutcherson, Charles McPherson, George Cables, and Shirley Scott herself.
They call him the Doctor of Bebop — there's a short film by that name, and his "Re-Birthing the Cool" project has charmed audiences up and down the West Coast. A few years ago he brought it all home to Kansas City, and the Blue Room has embraced him ever since: Jazz @ Noon sets, a packed birthday celebration every spring, holiday shows in December. Now, at 89, he's back to headline Friday night — living proof that bebop keeps you young.
Two sets, one legend. Come catch a voice seventy years in the making.
Two shows: 8:30 pm and 10 pm. Admission is $10 per show.
The Blue Room, 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108. Friday, August 7 — shows at 8:30 pm & 10 pm.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 12.51
