I was a trombone player in high school and this man inspired me so much. Sadly the trombone doesn't get the praise of majesty it deserves but man can it play.
I graduated 2006. I played trumpet and Baritone for 7 years and switched to Trombone my senior year. Never could read Bass Clef I just memorized every slide position my buddy wrote for me. I got a scholarship to a University playing Trombone. Bill made me want to play. My audition was playing Spain, and no not anywhere the level of Sir Watrous.
Sadly, after a long illness, Bill Watrous passed away on July 2nd 2018 he was 79. To me and many thousands of followers, Bill was the epitome of all trombone players. His beautiful sound, amazing range, and technique and unsurpassable style will continue to influence many trombone players for many years to come.
I had a lesson with Bill and it happened to be just after he had been in the studio recording this tune for his next album. He played the background master for me and was like a little kid delighting in the beautiful strings, key changes, etc. What a privilege to observe firsthand what really got him excited. It made him a bit more human to me. He said he was getting ready to go on a fishing trip with James Pankow (Chicago). Wouldn’t you love to have eavesdropped on those conversations?!
Bill Watrous...rest his soul...was the absolute master of the ballad. His sense of phrasing and melodic brilliance was unsurpassed in the trombone world. In fact this guy was fantastic on any thing he played. I know a little something about this because I played trombone for over 40 years.
My first Trombone clinic was in the late 70s with Bill. I didn’t understand the significance of the event at the time and I will always remember it. RIP
He was my favourite trombone player, I met him several times when he came to England, and I had a small part in the LP Watrous In London. I will miss him.
great silky-smooth,and easy so easy super sound with seemingly no effort....what a legacy of sweet, savory ear candy we inherit with our listening ears....Amen and Amen.
Rest in peace Bill and thanks for the classy slide ride for so many wonderful years. You will always be here with us through your great musical gift and gifts.
Bill Watrous, in my humble opinion, was the consummate trombone player. I was blessed to have been able to see him perform (after which I wanted to throw my trombone in the nearest river). He played so effortlessly, which truly amazed me. I first saw him (on TV) as a young bone player in the Mort Lindsey Orchestra on the Merv Griffin Show. Many people had the feeling that greatness was in his grasp - and he certainly proved it! What a class act! Bill, R.I.P.
I used to play along with this song but as a duet since the Natalie Cole version with Nat was out at about the same time, and I can't remember how many months it took to get the solo down. He was certainly one of the best trombonists that has picked one up, and definitely the best ballad player. Here is hoping he, Kai, and JJ are making music together again.
Truly, he will be missed! Wonderful person, incredible tone, musicality, mastery of his instrument, but most of all, his love of life and how he shared it with all musicians he encountered with. RIP Bill!
Truly and wonderfully awesome, so superbly controlled, delicately articulated and sensitively delivered. Flawless performance. What a guy and what an inspiration to all musicians. The Best.
I agree with Leslie's comment. Of all the trombonist's out there..... Glenn Miller, Trummy Young, Carl Fontana, Urbie Green.... To name a few. They are all great, but Bill Watrous had a sound and style that no one can compare to.
He plays a beautiful ballad; very inventive and melodic improvisation as well. I don't know who plays a better ballad on trombone. Dick Nash is also wonderful.
The most beautiful sound I ever heard on the t'bone, particularly his first album As long as Bill kept his bell from being swallowed by the mike, nobody could touch his beautiful and unique sound. In my opinion, the all round greatest trombone player of all,
Thom Gambino: I had the honor of performing with Bill Watrous’s Manhattan Wildlife Refuge big band from 1973-’74. I left the band to start my road gig with the Joffrey Ballet. Bill’s first album (Tiger of San Pedro) was recorded shortly afterward. Bill died a few years ago. He was a great person & musician.
I have seen him several times when he has been in London, I had a small part to play in his recording Live In London, a fantastic player, and a great man.
... yes, it was the 27.09. - September 28th, 2015 when I saw and listened to the legendary trombonist Bill Watrous here in Germany (Bavaria - Franconia - Nuremberg) with the local sundaynightorchestra. Even then he was already very weak on the jazz stage with 150 banned listeners. He was present and concentrated and a professional, although at the time it was noticed that he was overwhelming himself personally and he was not sparing, even though he gave 10 concerts during the university trip with workshops in different federal states. A German music teacher had organized this difficult, which turned out to be difficult since Bill had no internet and was first found through the University of Southern California, which then contacted his wife after months and was reachable by phone. The concert here in Nuremberg was a special experience for me, even well into the 50s, since it last appeared in Germany in 1992 and also produced recordings back then and before (legendary: Trombone Summit 1980 with B. Watrous; K. Winding; A. Mangelsdorff J. Wiggham). I was actually scared of his condition. Well, I wasn't like that. Hardly any space on the small stage and it was not particularly stable. Even I as a trombonist and my father as a radio musician were just over 60 years old on the physical front. But he was over 75. At that time I thought: all respect, but you have to do that physically with a reduced style of play at this age (he only improvised in the high registers between the first and second moves, without melody). Or did he want this. Being a musician and still in demand as a legend in old age is not easy when your physical condition plays a trick on you. My father had stopped at 58. He could also afford it financially in Germany, with his better social systems in old age. Unfortunately I got the departure of Bill W: FIRST TODAY. My father, as a trombonist, died two years before his 60th birthday. So Bill had done it right in his sense, to play until he left the stage when he wanted ... (in DEUTSCH)..ja, es war der 27.09. - 28. September 2015 als ich den legendären Posaunisten Bill Watrous hier in Deutschland (Bayern - Franken - Nürnberg) mit dem hiesigen sundaynightorchestra sah und lauschte. Schon damals war er schon sehr geschwächt stehend auf der Jazzbühne bei 150 gebannten Zuhörern. Er war präsent und konzentriert und ein Profi, obwohl man ihm damals anmerkte dass er sich persönlich überforderte und er sich nicht schonte, obwohl er 10 Konzerte innerhalb der Hochschul-Reise mit Workshops in verschieden Bundesländern gab. Ein deutscher Musiklehrer hatte dies beschwerlich organisiert, was sich als schwierig erwies, da Bill kein Internet hatte und erst über die University of Southern California ausfindig gemacht wurde, die dann mit seiner Frau nach Monaten kontakten und telefonisch erreichbar wurde. Das Konzert hier in Nürnberg war für mich, auch schon selbst weit in den 50er ein besonderes Erlebnis, da er ja das letzte Mal 1992 in Deutschland auftrat und auch schon damals und bereits vorher Schallplattenaufnahmen produzierte (legendär: Trombone Summit 1980 mit B. Watrous; K. Winding; A. Mangelsdorff J. Wiggham). Eigentlich war ich war erschrocken über seine Verfassung. Nun, so gesehen war ich es nicht. Kaum Platz auf der kleinen Bühne und standfest war er nicht besonders. Selbst ich als Posaunist und auch schon mein Vater als Rundfunkmusiker waren leicht über 60 Jahren körperlich an der Grenze. Aber er war über 75. Ich dachte mir damals: allen Respekt, aber MUSS man in dem Alter sich dass körperlich antun mit reduzierter Spielweise (er improvisierte nur in den hohen Lagen zwischen dem ersten und zweiten Zug, ohne Melodie). Oder wollte er dies. Musiker zu sein und noch gefragt als Legende im hohen Alter ist nicht einfach, wenn die körperlichen Befindlichkeiten einem einen Streich spielen. Mein Vater hatte mit 58 aufgehört. Er konnte sich das auch finanziell leisten in Deutschland, mit seinen besseren Sozialsystemen im Alter. Leider habe ich den Weggang von Bill W: ERST HEUTE MITBEKOMMEN. Mein Vater als Posaunist starb bereits zwei Jahre vor seinem 60. Geburtstag. Somit hatte Bill es in seinem Sinne doch richtig gemacht, solange zu spielen, bis er von der Bühne abging, wann er wollte …
Bill Watrous was my favorite Trombone Teacher's Teacher. I never had the pleasure of meeting him myself but the stories he would tell about Mr. Watrous were insane to say the least lol. apparently he was known for being a little crazy and a bit of a prankster
Despite this having been recorded well past his prime as a player, and with the cheesy synth strings added, I'm not sure Bill or anyone else has ever taken a more beautifully melodic cut at this tune. And the same goes for the other two ballads on this album.
musicloverdavid je pensais pouvoir jouer comme ça , moi aussi , un jour....et j'y suis enfin arrivé .....à 77 ans !!! Le principal , c'est que J'AI REUSSI.......
How do you play so beautifully in a trombone.. I used to always debate trumpeters to Trombonists.. Coz they had 3 keys.. N a Trombonist only a pulley to get his tune out.. I believe this is an instrument I need to understand.
Daniel Cropp I have always been amazed give respect for his way of being himself and he won't give two shots about your criticism of vanity he wasn't going to do anything for anyone unless it was related to the passion driving him being music and baseball. I'm glad you took away such deep emotion from his music
Too much! Just too much - as Conte Candoli used to say when confronted by a solo by Zeus! The Gods descend from the mountain tops - we are all in the gutter - but Bill stays aloft - gazing at the stars! Is there life beyond the stars? As Ptolemy wrote in the Almagest: "I know I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral ; but when I trace at my pleasure, the windings of heavenly bodies, I no longer touch the Earth with my feet; I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia."
Chuck - I took lessons from Bill from 1977 - 1982 while attending CSUN and after. We spoke about religion occasionally. He definitely was a believer but also a very private person in that regard.
I used to follow him around when I first started to play. He played into my face quite a few times during the late 70's, in and around New York City. No sound, but a real swinging cat, with chops from another planet. That's the only thing that bugged me, was the microphone halfway up the bell. Seems to me that you can only sound as good as the microphone says you do. I prefer to hear a roomful of sound that the microphone can pick up, but that's just me.
He played that way because he chose to. It lets you hear all the subtlety he put into his playing. I heard him in a class room in 75 with no mic and he sounded the same. 12 years ago I saw him in an acoustically crappy meeting room used as a concert room. he sounded great with and withpout the mic. It's BS that he had no power. He was a successful studio and road band cat because he wasn't one dimensional.
@@slipbone He had the most naturally beautiful sound of anybody, listen to his first album "In Love Again from 1968, and was probably technically the greatest trombone player who ever lived. Why Bill chose through most of his career to play with the mike too close to his bell, particularly on live performances, I will never understand. It distorted his sound and made it sound like he was playing under water.Just my opinion.
