JOAN WATSON-JONES, Choices
In addition to being a noted recording artist, Joan Watson-Jones, a veteran of the New England Jazz scene, is host and producer of The Jazz Room, an online radio show where she plays music and interviews top names.
The magic of her guests and a wealth of jazz influences continues to rub off on the versatile, deeply soulful, emotional and sublimely swinging singer, who on her latest album Choices continues to reveal the depths of her artistry as an insightful songwriter and musical storyteller.
She bookends the set with a booming, wildly percussive twist on “Topsy 2” featuring her own lyrics celebrating her passion for dance, and a vibrant stroll through the always welcome and uplifting “Here’s to Life.”
The core of the collection though is a jazz troubadour’s delight, as Watson-Jones gets personal sharing heartfelt narratives about and featuring the wisdom of her parents, a family friend, her beloved husband and an old college friend.
Aside from being a delightfully charming set of vocal jazz, the perfectly titled album – featuring the singer’s longtime band members Frank Wilkins (piano), Dave Zox (bass) and Alvin Terry (drums) – feels like a warm, intimate (yet often rhythmically and harmonically rousing!) evening at home with her extended family.
March 23, 2020
Singer/Songwriter Joan Watson-Jones
Eye of Samantha Productions LLC
Joan Watson-Jones Jazz Ensemble
Photo - Gary Alpert
Ingenues get the lion’s share of the attention, but jazz is an art form that rewards patience, and the most incisive performers draw on a deep well of experience…JOAN WATSON-JONES continues her evolution…creating music shaped by a fabulous family legacy.
Part of what makes Watson-Jones such an evocative performer is that she is a member of the band rather than a frontwoman. And what a band! FRANK WILKINS, a gifted pianist, arranger, and music director whose credits including backing Dee Dee Bridgewater is Watson-Jones’ hand-in-glove accompanist and longtime creative partner. The rhythm section tandem of DAVE ZOX and drummer ALVIN TERRY deliver consistently tasty and expertly calibrated propulsion. Watson-Jones gives her bandmates space to shine, but everyone’s working in the service of the songs, a string of musical pearls grown from hard-won wisdom and hard work on the bandstand. After discovering her voice as a singer, Watson-Jones reveals herself as a bard of the human condition, a journey that continues apace. Coming into your own as a jazz artist ‘takes a lifetime, because you’ve gotta find yourself before you can be yourself in the music,’ she says, a trenchant truism that could well turn up in a future Watson-Jones song.” – Andrew Gilbert – freelance writer, San Francisco Chronicle, Jazz Times KQEDArts, Berkeley
Frank Wilkins
Dave Zox
Alvin Terry
