One of the finest jazz oriented trombonists of the past 30 years, Bill Watrous has had a low profile since moving to Los Angeles in the 1980s despite remaining quite active. Possessor of a beautiful tone and remarkable technique, Watrous has been constantly overlooked in jazz popularity polls of the past two decades. His father was a trombonist and introduced Bill to music. He played in traditional jazz bands as a teenager and studied with Herbie Nichols while in the military. Watrous made his debut with Billy Butterfield, and was one of the trombonists in Kai Winding's groups during 1962-1967. He was a busy New York-based studio musician during the 1960s, working and recording with Quincy Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman: playing in the television band for Merv Griffin's show (1965-1968): and working on the staff of CBS (1967-1969). Watrous led his own big band (the Manhattan Wildlife Refuge) during 1973-1977), recording two superb albums for Columbia. After moving to Los Angeles in the late '70s, Watrous continued working in the studios, appearing at jazz festivals, and leading an occasional big band. He has recorded as a leader for Columbia, Famous Door, Soundwings, GNP Crescendo, and with his '90s big band for Double-Time.
Since relocating to the Los Angeles area, Watrous has put together jazz orchestras on a part-time basis to play local clubs and jazz festivals. Finally, in 1997, a recording was released of the more recent version of the Bill Watrous Big Band. Featuring arrangements by Tom Kubis, Shelly Berg, Gordon Goodwin, Ken Kaplan and Frank Perowsky, the Double-Time set is largely straight-ahead but not exactly predictable. Most of the selections have their complex sections, but always swing. The warm-toned trombonist is the main soloist, with powerhouse pianist Shelly Berg as the top supporting player. The music is a s rewarding as one would expect, considering the caliber of these players, and is easily recommended to modern big band fans. -SCOTT YANOW