Leo Watson

Leo Watson ( born February 27, 1898 in Kansas City, Missouri; † May 2, 1950 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American jazz singer.

Life and work

Watson began his career as an eccentric scat singer with appearances in the Whitman Sisters show in New York, where he moved in 1929. The Background group made soon after with Watson as a freelance Spirits of Rhythm with Virgil Scroggins (drums, vocals), Charlotte Douglas Daniels ( Tipples, vocals), and Buddy Burton on guitar, later replaced by Teddy Bunn. " Tipples " was her expression for a variety of improvised tools they used - so Scroggins played with feather dusters on paper wrapped suitcases and Watson on a type of ukulele. Watson imitated with his fast Vocalise himself trombone and was a master of improvisation ahead of its time. He influenced so that later jazz singers like Mel Tormé and Slim Gaillard. Their music is documented in photographs of the Spirits of 1933/34, and in guest appearances with the Washboard Rhythm Kings.

After the Spirits had dissolved, a number of famous stars, Leo Watson tried to help a solo career; he played from 1937 in New York Onyx Club with John Kirby and also played briefly in 1938 Artie Shaw, for Watson a wordless chorus in Cole Porter's title "I've a Strange New Rhythm in My Heart" (Brunswick 1937 ) einbaute, which was one of the early examples of scat singing (instead of chorus vocals). Gene Krupa hired him for eight months for a tour in Nagasaki, which also recordings exist. The Andrew Sisters Decca convinced them to grant Leo Watson, a first solo recording session.

In 1939 he appeared with Jimmy Mundy's Big Band. Even after its dissolution, it always came back to new editions of the Spirits, in 1941 for the musical film Sweetheart of the Campus and 1946 in Los Angeles with Slim & Slam (Slim Gaillard and Slam Stewart). Watson lived from 1943 in Los Angeles ( where he also appeared briefly in the film Stormy Weather by 1943) and entered last occasionally as a soloist in cabarets and on with Slim Gaillard. But his productive days were over; he sat for illegal possession of drugs in prison and was mostly dependent on odd jobs outside the music business, such as a waiter or in a munitions factory. He died of pneumonia.

In addition to his recordings with Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, Leonard Feather and Spirits there are also two solo recordings (1939, 1946) on Decca Records and Signature.

Appreciation

The author Will Friedwald wrote about the person and his work: " Only superficial listening, you might think that his seemingly senseless scat choruses make his mental confusion clearly. However Basically, Watson had just then under control when he sang. His vocal passages, especially the scat choruses, show his excellent sense of structure, symmetry and internal logic. "

Comments

Sources / Links

  • Brief biography at allmusic.com
  • Will Friedwald: Swinging Voices of America - A compendium of great voices. Hannibal, St. Andrew - Woerdern, 1992. ISBN 3-85445-075-3
  • Jazz Singer
  • Jazz Pianist
  • American musician
  • Born in 1898
  • Died in 1950
  • Man
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