But over a nearly 50-year career as a bandleader, he also released more than a dozen albums under his own name, spotlighting his eloquent playing in a range of contexts.For a time in the 1970s he led a jazz-rock big band, Mr. Watrous’s professional career began in the 1960s, when he played in ensembles led by the trumpeter Billy Butterfield and the trombonist Kai Winding and contributed to albums by the likes of Woody Herman, Wes Montgomery, Milton Nascimento and Chick Corea.Reviewing a performance by the Bill Berry-Willis Conover Jazz Band in 1971, John S. Wilson of The New York Times After relocating to Los Angeles in 1977, Mr. Watrous became an in-demand session player, heard on dozens of albums and television scores, including Mr. Jones’s acclaimed soundtrack to the popular mini-series “Roots.”He later taught at the University of Southern California for two decades, retiring in 2015.In addition to Ms. Wright, Mr. Watrous is survived by his wife, Maryann; their son, Jason; two daughters, Melody Watrous Ide and Cheryl Schoolcraft, from a previous marriage, which ended in divorce; and a brother, Paul.William Russell Watrous was born on June 8, 1939, in Middletown, Conn., and raised in Niantic, Conn. His father, Ralph, a trombonist who had played in vaudeville and regional bands, became his first role model.
The trombone sound, beautiful as it is, lacks presence while the piano, if anything, has too much. To enjoy Prime Music, go to Your Music Library and transfer your account to Amazon.com (US). The Bach model LT16M features a 7-1/2" one-piece hand-hammered bell designed for excellent resonance and projection. He was assigned to a Navy Band unit in San Diego, then eventually reassigned to New York City. "Stradivarius" - .509" bore, 7-1/2" one-piece hand-hammered yellow brass bell, open gooseneck, lightweight nickel silver outer handslide tubes, chrome plated nickel silver inner handslide tubes, clear lacquer finish, genuine Vincent Bach 7C small shank mouthpiece and new improved wood shell case After he hit more than two dozen balls over the fence, the team’s manager offered him a spot in the lineup as the designated hitter.“They were serious, but it would have been $540 a month, riding the bus and playing in the middle of nowhere,” he later recalled in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. It was not a major commercial success, but it cemented Watrous’ reputation as a composer and bandleader as well as a virtuoso instrumentalist.Few knew about his talents at another kind of swing: As a teenager, Watrous had been briefly scouted by the New York Yankees, and in the early 1980s, when he was in his mid-40s, he even contemplated joining a minor league baseball team.On a visit to Texas, Watrous casually took batting practice with the Double-A Midland Cubs. His mother, Edna (Little) Watrous, was a nurse and the head of the local nursing association.The younger Watrous played with traditional jazz groups around Connecticut before joining the Navy at 18. Preferred by legendary Jazz trombonist Bill Watrous, the Bach Stradivarius model LT16M tenor trombone is designed to meet the needs of the most discriminating artists. But this sound was something so different, so fresh, so new, that I ran down the hall to discover a friend playing a new LP record by a trombonist named Bill Pearce. His mother, Edna (Little) Watrous, was a nurse and the head of the local nursing association.The younger Mr. Watrous played with traditional jazz groups around Connecticut before joining the Navy at 18. At a time when "acoustic" jazz was gaining momentum--the early nineties--these four musicians deemed it necessary to enhance/supplement their efforts with a synthesizer.